Begin Again
by stephaneeee
Summary: Set 8 years after BD, Jacob had run after the wedding and stayed away for years. When he finally returned to La Push, time had moved on and so had he. Then, Sydney Delahunt moves to Forks by chance. What happens when their paths cross? A realistic look at reservation life and rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I have a few songs that accompany each chapter that I'll post. This first chapter is "My Soul I" by Anna Leone, "Runaway" by AURORA, "November Rain" by Blanco White, and "Wherever I Go" by the National Parks. Also, I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting her head rest against the seat behind her. The airplane engines thundering to a start, and the forward motion rocking the plane slightly. The music playing in her ears fading to the background of her mind as her thoughts catch up to where she is. The overwhelming feelings take her by surprise and she had to take another deep breath to stabilize her racing mind.

Was she doing the right thing? Was running away really the answer? As the plane took off, she looked out the window and saw her future changing with every passing second. The ground getting further and further away, and in turn, she was getting further and further away from him.

She was bound for Washington, she didn't really have plans beyond that. She had enough cash in her bank account to get her a shitty used car and maybe first month's rent for an apartment. She should have applied for some jobs, or at least decided on a town. Shaking her head and closing her eyes, she let the exhaustion she had been carrying for months overtake her, it had been so long since she had gotten more than 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. She was safe. She was getting away. It was a new start.

So what if she didn't have a plan, she would make one up as she went.

She woke up with a start, completely unaware of her surroundings a few hours later, when she realized the plane was landing. She rubbed her eyes and looked below her.

The scenery took her breath away. Lush green forest lay sprawling in every direction, she had never seen anything so…alive. She felt the steel clamps that held her heart from beating too happily barely flutter as she allowed herself to feel inspired. Maybe she was doing the right thing.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please ensure your seatbelts are fastened and your tray tables are in their upright position. We are now beginning our final descent into Seattle Tacoma International Airport, we should be landing within the next few minutes. As always, we thank you for choosing to fly with us and we want to be the first to welcome you to Seattle."

Sydney took another deep breath and changed the music on her phone to play the song she found most comfort in, My Soul I by Anna Leone. She figured it was an appropriate song to begin her new life here, leaving behind everything she had known for a new start where she knew nothing or no one.

She was in no hurry to get off the plane, letting others who seemed to be annoyed that anyone stood between them and their end destination go before her. After all, they would all be waiting at the baggage claim together anyways, what was a couple of extra minutes?

She grabbed her backpack, which she had nicknamed Big Bertha in what seemed like another life, a time when she was carefree and happy, a time when she traveled and had new experiences and was fearless. _He_ had stolen that light from her, convinced her that she didn't want adventures anymore.

Heaving the large backpack onto her back, she navigated her body through the narrow aisle, walking towards the unknown.

"So it begins" She muttered under her breath.

Sydney made it out the taxi loading area, with Big Bertha on her back and one suitcase dragging behind her. It was everything she needed, nothing more. No conventional trinkets, no emotional ties or memories, just clothes and toiletries, a few dishes, and some blankets. She got into a car and realized she had no idea where to go.

"Uh, is there a used car lot anywhere around? I need to buy a cheap car." She said unconfidently.

"Yeah, there's one a few miles out, that where you wanna go? I don't know what their prices are like but we can give it a shot." The man said, looking at her in the rear view. She simply nodded and internally smiled at the use of 'we' in his sentence.

The used car lot had more options than she was expecting. After a few hours and 4 test drives later with a man who wouldn't shut up, Sydney decided on a grey Mitsubishi Montero, it was an older model but it had enough room in the back that if she needed to sleep in it, she could do so comfortably, and it looked like it could handle off-roading.

She paid cash, and threw her belongings in the back. She grabbed the steering wheel as she sat in the parking lot, and just stared at the dashboard.

"Well, fuck, here goes nothing." She said, and started the car, not knowing what to do next. She pulled onto the freeway and aimed West, figuring that was always a good option.

She finally allowed her thoughts to surround her and flood her consciousness. She was hit with so many emotions, it took her breath away. She started silently crying as memories played through in her mind, and as she kept driving, she shook with sobs that couldn't be controlled.

" _Sweetheart, you know I would never make you choose, you know I would never make you feel like that." She could hear his voice as clear as day, the memory seared into her mind._

" _That's the thing though, you want me to choose, you want me to be the bad guy!" She had said. "Fuck, Brice, we've been fighting like this for months. I can't keep doing this with you. Maybe we weren't supposed to work out. Maybe this our time to call it."_

" _You don't know what you're saying, Sydney." He said threateningly. "Let's not make any decisions we would regret, right babe?"_

The rest of that night played through, his hands curling into fists at her mention of separation. His eyes flashing with a rage that couldn't be described nor contained. He had made her feel pain. Physical, emotional, the overwhelming desperation to flee. He had never laid hands on her before that night, only manipulated her thoughts and actions until she felt like she was suffocating in a straight jacket that didn't actually exist.

Every single day, she had been checked on and monitored, her cell phone had been gone through when she was sleeping, her diet criticized because "you know, you're looking a little heavier than you were when we first met babe, you know I don't care about that stuff but I know you want to look good." Every single decision she made, he made sure he was there to approve or disapprove.

Her friends had stopped reaching out months ago, her family as well. They all lived nearby, but the life was being extinguished from her eyes and no one could sit around to watch it happen, especially because she wouldn't let them. Her pride getting in the way of being honest and asking for help.

That night that broke her was a week ago. She had made the decision to leave while lying on the carpeted floor of their apartment, her ribs screaming in pain every time she breathed. She had laid there for hours, memorizing the texture of that tan carpet. The fibers weaving together in a never-ending dance. How she wished she could have just melted into that carpet, join them in their blissful state of unaware. She eventually called an ambulance, when she realized the sun was rising through their sliding doors, the light filtering through the shitty blinds that always made too much noise. She had heaved herself up onto the couch and found her phone, the screen cracked from when he threw it at her head and dialed for help.

The sobs that wracked her body while she drove on the highway had eventually subsided, the emotions running through her finally petering out. Sydney realized she hadn't really been paying attention to the road or her surroundings while she had let the memories overtake her.

She wiped her eyes with her hand and finally took stock of the sights before her. The highway twisted gracefully and was surrounded by lush forest. The road looked slick, evidence that it never did stop raining here, mist settling at the edges of the road. She had no idea where she was, but this place was damn near perfect.

As the road continued on, she felt the slightest sense of contentment. It was a feeling so foreign to her that she pulled over to the side of the road and just reveled in it. It wasn't quite peace, no, it would be months before she could attain that, but it was the first time she hadn't felt like her throat was closing or her chest was caving in.

Sydney got out of her car, leaving it running, because she honestly hadn't seen another car in miles, and just stood at the forest wall, looking into it and breathed. She allowed her nose to be filled with that damp air, that was tinged with pine and rain and foliage that she couldn't make out. Tears fell from her eyes as her hair blew in her face, and she laughed thinking about how ridiculous she probably looked.

Moments passed and she just stood. Let nature heal in its own way.

She climbed back into her car after what felt like hours, pushing her hair back from her eyes, making the conscious decision to stop in the next town she saw. She figured this was as good of a place as any.

Putting the car into drive, she saw a flash of silver to her right, in the forest, and before she could even turn her head to look, it was gone. She blinked a few times, then pulled onto the road once more.

Miles passed and she finally saw a sign for a town, Forks, it was called.

"I can't tell if that's a fitting name or just outright dumb." She mused out loud.

It was a simple town, unremarkable at best. She passed a diner that had a gas station next door, wanting to ask around for places she could stay, she pulled in.

She got out of her car and while walking through the door, she realized just how small of a town it was when every single patron's head turned to her. She smiled in thanks as a waitress called out, "Anywhere ya like."

Picking a spot at the bar, she grabbed a plastic menu, looking over her very limited options. "What'll you have ta drink honey?" The waitress asked, a coffee pot resting in one hand and her fist resting on her other hip, she was distracted, looking around at all of the other tables.

"A coffee, actually, thanks." Sydney replied. "Hey, would you happen to know if anywhere is hiring or if there's any rooms to rent around here?" She asked as the waitress, Madge, according to her name tag, filled up her mug.

With that, Madge looked over Sydney with a suddenly very scrutinous eye. Seemingly pleased with how Sydney looked, she waved her hand in the air and said, "Not a lot of options here, unfortunately. I would put you in contact with James, whose sittin' over there, he got a small house that he rents out, just was vacated a couple months ago. Needs a lot of work but it's cheap as all get out. As for work, we could always use an extra hand if you have experience, or the elementary school is lookin' for a teacher if ya got a degree."

Sydney smiled fully now, "Thank you so much, which one did you say was James? And I might have a copy of my resume in the car if you want me to give you that. I'd love to work here. I've served before for a couple of years."

"That one with the Carhartt jacket, shoving his face full of burger at the present. And don't worry about a resume, just give me a number I can reach ya at. Will you be stickin' around town long?"

"Uh, I hope so. Wanted to start something new, figured here was as good as any." Sydney said, standing up. "Would you mind if I put in an order for the large fries?" Madge nodded and waved her hand again, dismissively, turning back towards the kitchen.

Sydney made her way over to the presumed James and cleared her throat as she approached his table. "Hi, are you James? Madge told me you might have a place to rent in town."

James patted his face with his napkin and looked over her, as Madge had. There was a certain appreciativeness in his stare though, that Sydney wasn't all too comfortable with. "Well, as a matta of fact, I do. Needs some serious help though. You handy?" He asked.

Sydney nodded, "I can manage myself." She smiled bravely as she allowed the double entendre to settle over him. He nodded curtly in reply and said, "Well, it'll be about $300 a month, that includes water and utilities and sewage. Payment due on the 1st. Think you can manage?"

Sydney nodded and smiled brighter now, "Yeah, that would be really great. How should I get in touch with you?"

"Well, I can take ya over there once I'm done eatin' and we can get all details in order, if you're lookin' to move in right away, that is."

"Yeah, that would be perfect, I just ordered some food as well, just let me know when you're ready. I really appreciate it." She said, turning back towards her seat.

Her smile that took over her mouth was unabashed and full, she couldn't believe how easy it had all been. She could be working at the diner, she potentially had a place to stay that was way below what she had expected to pay in Washington. Maybe this place was going to be alright.

She left her contact information with Madge, who promised to call her the next day. She also gave Sydney the number to the elementary school, just in case.

James' car was an older black truck, that spewed black smoke from the exhaust, showing its signs of old age, coughing out what little life it had left. She followed him through the small town streets onto Zepeda Lane, and pulled into a small white house that was the last home before a lumber yard.

James got out of his vehicle and patted his belly. Sydney laughed through her nose at the sight, but she was unnaturally excited about this tiny home. She could see it needed some serious work.

The gutters were clogged beyond recognition and falling off of the roof entirely at points, the screen door was missing the top hinge and sat at an angle propped onto the frame. The front porch was missing parts of the railing that connected it throughout. The white paint was chipped and faded, looking sad and pitiful in the grey that surrounded them, but Sydney saw right through it all. She envisioned what it would look like with a fresh coat of paint, the exterior getting the love it needed. She could see herself reading a book in a rocking chair on the porch, drinking her morning coffee. She smiled, and got out of her car, never taking her eyes off the house.

"Whattaya think?" He asked, gesturing grandly behind him.

She looked at James and said, "I love it. Truly. How soon could I move in?"

James, faltered for a second, but caught himself. "Darlin', you know that the outside looks bad but it's nothin' compared to the inside, are ya sure ya could handle it? I could really use the rent money but I don't wanna put ya in a tight spot neither." He sighed and looked at the house.

"No, no, it's okay. I really could fix it up. I've done some construction and if there's plumbing or electrical problems, I could always hire someone. I want this house, James. I can't thank you enough for showing it to me." She wasn't disillusioned that this house was going to be easy, she knew there would be problems and she knew they would add up eventually but it was a place to live, a place she could call her own, and for that price, she would have to make do.

"Okay, well let's take ya inside and see what ya think." James said, pulling the screen to the side, having to hold it up with his shoulder while he unlocked the door.

It was a simple house. One story with a living room and kitchen when you first entered and a bathroom to your right, there was also what she assumed was a bedroom was in the right-hand corner. It had white walls that were stained a slight yellow from previous tenants smoking indoors with wooden floors and older fixtures. The kitchen was outdated but it would do, she could smell the mold and immediately started making plans in her head of how best to clean it up.

"Well, I don' really have a contract or nothin' for you to sign, but I gotta piece of paper we could write one out right quick in the truck. Take a look 'round and I'll be right back." James said, patting his coat trying to find his keys.

Sydney walked to the bedroom and saw that it was decent, with large windows framing a bed in the center of the wall. It wasn't large but it was big enough to fit a bed and dresser comfortably. She pressed her palm into the mattress and scrunched her nose, making a mental note to buy a mattress immediately.

"Well, here we go. How about $275 a month until you get this place fixed up right then we can renegotiate. I don' want a young thing like yourself gettin' inta anything ya can't handle." James said from the kitchen as Sydney walked out to meet him.

"I couldn't do that to you. $300 is more than fair. It's not all that bad, just needs some love." Sydney said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And I'll let you know if it becomes too much, but it'll be good for me to have a project to focus on, if you don't mind me making some changes, that is."

James waved his hand in the air, dismissing her thought, it must be a Forks resident thing, everyone seemed to do it. "Do what ya need ta. Just don' go paintin' the walls pink or nothin', it'll ruin the manly façade I got goin'." He chuckled. Sydney smiled and shook her head.

"No pink walls then." She leaned down over the paper and began writing.

 _Sydney Delahunt and James Monroe enter into a rental contract starting March 4_ _th_ _, 2017 wherein Sydney Delahunt rents this property for $300 a month to be paid on the first of every month._

"Good enough?" Sydney asked, offering the pen to James. He read the paper and nodded, signing the space below and handed back the pen. Sydney took it and felt the weight of what this decision meant as she carried the pen down to the paper. Her fingers grasping the object, the ink flowing easily from its tip. Her name appeared in time with the smile that crawled from her lips.

"Well, I have $300 cash that I'll give you now for the month of March. Thanks again James, do you think I could get your contact information, just in case?" She asked, pulling open her wallet.

"Yeah, I'll leave it on the fridge, I'll go ahead and call to get ya water and electricity turned on, you might not have it tonight though, I'm 'fraid." James said, proffering another paper from his pocket and sticking it to the fridge. "Now you jus' lemme know if you need anythin' at all, ya hear? Even if a damn mouse is crawlin' around, I'll come take care of it." He said proudly, hooking his thumbs into his jean pockets.

"I think I can manage a mouse but I'll call if anything comes up, I can't tell you how thankful I am. I appreciate this more than you know." Sydney said, holding out her hand for a handshake. James took it and looked at her for a moment longer.

"Alrigh' then. I'll be goin'." He crossed the room, and saluted her with two fingers on his way out of the door.

Sydney let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She looked around the quiet house and tried to memorize every detail. This was hers and hers alone. She didn't have to share it, she didn't have to live with anyone, especially not _him_. She could be whoever she wanted to be, do whatever she wanted to do, see whoever she wanted to see, get any job she pleased, go running just for the hell of it, get lost in the forest just because. She could taste freedom on the very tip of her tongue.

She glanced at her watch, 4:15pm, wondering where the closest home improvement store was or if there was a store in town that sold sheets, just to get her through the night. She looked at her phone for the first time since she left Florida, and took it off airplane mode, readying herself for the onslaught of messages she was sure would come.

" _Babe, where are you? I keep getting your voice mail, are you still at your mom's?"  
"Syd, this isn't funny anymore, c'mon"  
"Sweetheart, you know I said I was sorry, just come home."  
"Sydney, seriously, what the fuck. Where are you? Don't make me call the cops."  
"Hey Syd, it's mom, Brice keeps calling. Am I still telling him that you're going to visit family? That's what I've been telling him anyways. You need to just be honest with him. He'll probably leave you alone once he knows you're gone and not coming back. Anyways, hope you had a good flight. Give me a call when you can, love you endlessly." _

She called her mom quickly, letting her know she had landed safe and was staying in a town outside Seattle for a bit, but was careful to not tell her exactly where, in case Brice asked her later. She trusted her mom not to say anything, but Brice was so damn manipulative she wouldn't put it past him to get it out of her.

After hanging up, she looked up a store in town and pulled her belongings into her new home. She got back into her car and drove into town, finding the store easily. She pulled down the visor, looking into the mirror for the first time all day, when she realized this, she was shocked. Normally, she was entirely too aware of how she looked because of Brice. He made sure to point out every flaw, every blemish, every time her hands were a little dry.

She took stock of her appearance. She had a heart shaped face with green eyes that looked tired, years ago they used to light up her entire face when she was 20, but now they just looked red-rimmed from exhaustion at her age of 26. She wasn't very skinny, but rather a healthy weight which gave her face shape. Her full lips were her favorite feature of her face. She had light brown hair that fell in curls around her shoulders. She was conventionally attractive but her self esteem had been so battered she never saw herself as she truly was. She closed the visor and grabbed her keys.

The store was stocked well enough to get her through the night but she needed to find a larger city to get all the things she really needed. She found sheets for the bed and after debating with herself for 10 minutes as to whether it was a queen or a full, she picked a pattern and threw it into her basket. She found a pillow and a towel and decided that would be good enough.

Driving back to her house, she really took inventory of the town as she drove. There was only one stop light in the whole town and people walked around on the side of the road, she assumed nothing was too far to walk to. The light sprinkling that had started around the time she had left the store was a full-blown rain by the time she pulled into her dirt driveway.

She deposited the items onto the bed and made quick work of putting it together, admiring her handiwork with her hands on her hips at the foot of the bed when she was finished, when she felt it.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and goosebumps covered her arms. It was like someone was watching her. She looked out the windows into the fading light and didn't see anything but green forest.

"Well that was weird." She muttered out loud. "Hey, if you're watching me, could you…not? Maybe? I'm new here and I'd like to stay here and I don't need some creepy ghost scaring me away my first night. Okay...thanks." She said loudly to the quiet house around her. She then laughed at herself and shook her head, walking towards the kitchen and grabbing her keys.

She ate dinner at the diner and got to talk to Madge much more in depth. Madge was a curious creature. She had lived in Forks all of her life, but had never made plans to leave, nor did she ever want to. She was perfectly content in the town bubble. Sydney was fascinated by her, listening to her stories of the town's residents from over the years. Who had left, who had stayed, who was now trying every drug they could get their hands on, who was drinking themselves into oblivion.

"And here's one of our finest, Charlie Swan." Madge said, cutting her own story short, Sydney turned to see a man in his 50's with short, dark hair and a moustache, his police badge standing out. Sydney waved in his direction and he nodded.

"Now, what lies are you spreading today Madge?" Charlie asked, pulling up a seat next to Sydney, "Charlie Swan, chief of police, you must be new around here." He offered his hand, which Sydney shook.

"I'm Sydney Delahunt, just moved here today actually. Was hoping to stay a while. Madge was just giving me the town gossip." Sydney said, laughing. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Half the stuff she tells ya isn't true and the other half is stuff I don't even know yet, gotta watch out for her." He said, jokingly. "It's nice to meet you Sydney, what brings you to Forks, anyways?"

"Needed a new start, a change. Landed in Seattle and drove until I found a town that felt right. I know it sounds silly, but when you know, you know." Sydney said, picking at her salad.

Charlie just nodded and gestured to Madge, "The usual." He shrugged his jacket off and placed it on the seat next to him. "Well, if you ever need anything, let me know. You'll be the talk of the town, I'm sure, but they'll get used to you soon enough."

Sydney replied her thanks and after finishing her dinner and eliciting a promise from Madge to call her tomorrow, she left the diner. The night had cleared up after the brief rainstorm and the earth smelled fresh and new. It was cool and muddy, her feet sinking with each step she took in the dirt lot.

Thank god I got a 4-wheel drive, she thought to herself. As she walked to her car, enjoying the peaceful night, she saw a flash of silver in the corner of her eye again. Turning quicker this time, she tried to catch it, but it was gone.

"Okay, it's fine, you're just going crazy." She muttered to herself, getting into her car.

She drove home with her windows down, letting the cool air surround her and whip past her. She took deep breaths and felt the steel clamps on her heart let up slightly.

She slept soundly that night, not bothering to set alarms for the morning, assuming she wouldn't sleep for long. But when she awoke, the overcast day illuminating her room ever so slightly. She turned over and looked at her phone, 10:45 am.

She was surprised, she hadn't slept that long in years, but damn did it feel good. She stretched in her bed, rubbing her eyes and got up slowly. She took her time pulling clothes from her suitcase and made a mental list of the things she wanted to accomplish.

"Okay, I need a new mattress, I need to call the school to see if I can get an interview, I need paint, I need hinges for the screen, need to see if there's a ladder to clean out the gutters, need cleaning supplies…a lot of cleaning supplies…need to stop talking to myself out loud…" She muttered to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. Her curly hair never seemed to want to sit where she styled it and she had resigned herself to leaving it to its own free will after years of struggling with it.

She made a call to the elementary school Madge had given her the information for, which was actually the Quileute Tribal School on the reservation nearby. They were in need of a 3rd grade teacher and were looking to hire someone immediately, their last teacher having to leave on maternity. Sydney told them about her degree in Special Education and they made plans to interview the next day.

She then made her way to Port Angeles, the closest big "city" according to her phone and made a day of wandering the aisles of the home improvement store. Picking out paint colors for the exterior and interior, finding new door handles and locks, and enough cleaning supplies to last her a lifetime. She bought a few lamps and a small coffee table.

She stopped at a furniture store and ordered a new mattress and couch to be delivered the next day, then finally made her way to Target to pick up the rest of her home goods and dry groceries. She picked out a rug and curtains to match her paint and a new bed spread that fit with her theme. She picked a new shower curtain and coordinating shower mat.

She hadn't loved shopping like this before this moment and she couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to just pick out menial items that would fill her house. But, to her, it was the freedom of choosing, it was being able to decide without repercussions what she wanted. She didn't have someone behind her, second guessing everything she chose.

She had picked a light cream for the living room, kitchen and bathroom, and a light grey for her bedroom, with all the natural light she figured she could add decorations to brighten it even further. For the exterior, she had picked a dark green, like the forest behind it. She would paint the trim and the shutters white to make it look new. She was genuinely excited.

Returning home, she listened to music as the road wound through the forest, her mind quiet.

She immediately set to work on cleaning as thoroughly as she could, letting the music from her phone fill the air. She started in the bedroom, scrubbing the walls and floors, then onto the bathroom which took more than her fair share of elbow grease. It was downright disgusting when she started but was starting to resemble an actual bathroom when she was done. She finished the kitchen and living room, and looked around with pride. No longer was it dank and dark, it was actually starting to resemble a home, her home. She put up the rest of her recent purchases and sat on the floor of the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal and looking around with a quiet joy.

The next few days passed quickly for Sydney, the interview at the Quileute School went exceedingly well, she had interviewed with one of the Tribal Elders, and she was hired on the spot and was slated to start the following Monday. She was genuinely shocked at her luck, she had entirely expected to be living out of her car and jobless for weeks on end, but here she was, with two jobs, and a home. She would be working at the diners on the weekends and during the dinner shift on Thursday and Friday, which worked out well with her school schedule.

She had painted the inside of her house and had started the outside, but as it rained so often, she had to stop every few hours and wait for it to pass. She had cleaned and fixed the gutters as well as the screen door and her furniture had been moved in.

The weekend before she started teaching, she allowed herself to just sit in silence for hours. She wrote letters to old friends and she read books she had abandoned months prior. She could feel the weight being lifted from her chest with each passing minute.

Monday morning arrived and she made her way to the school, wanting to arrive early so she could get a lay of the land. The school itself was a simple, grey shingled building that sat on the water, overlooking the ocean. She walked up the steps and entered in, finding the office.

"Hi, I'm Sydney Delahunt, I'm the new teacher." She said to the receptionist who had just sat down. The receptionist smiled at her and put her purse under the desk.

The receptionist had a wide face, mostly cheekbones, with eyes too small to balance them out. Her nose and mouth were both too broad for traditional beauty. Her flat black hair was thin and wispy and fell to her waist. But what drew Sydney's attention was her eyelashes, they were so long that they almost reached her eyebrows, accentuating her deep brown eyes.

"Hi there! I'm Kim Cameron, I volunteer at the front desk a few days a week, I heard you were coming in. I think the paperwork is all completed, but I'll show you to your classroom and have the principal come meet you there." She said sweetly. She rounded the desk, and led Sydney down to a hallway with 5 doors on either side. "So, the elementary and middle grades are in this building and the one next door houses the high schoolers. I'm gonna be honest, our drop out rate is pretty high, so they tend to group the students together more over there. We really push the kids to stay in school, we at least want them to finish 8th grade, but it can be a tough battle. You'll be teaching 3rd grade which is a good age, I think you'll really like them. We have a great class." She opened the 3rd door on the left and gestured for Sydney to enter.

It was a simple classroom, bare white walls with minimal posters hung. The desks in rows of 5, all facing the front white board. Sydney scrunched her nose, "Is there any way I could decorate the classroom a bit more? I could use my own money if you needed me to. I just…I hate the bare classrooms, I find them to be more distracting than decorated ones."

"Oh! Of course. The last teacher, she wasn't that great. She, uh, left, suddenly and she took anything she could sell. So, when we came back, this is what was left. But, feel free to do what you need or want. I'm sure we can see if there's a stipend for furnishings. I'll look into and get back to you at lunch." Kim said, looking around. "Do you have any questions? I'm sure the principal can answer them too, but it's really nice to meet you!"

Sydney shook her head, smiling, "No, I think I got it, thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it, and it was lovely meeting you as well." Kim waved and closed the door behind her. Sydney immediately set out on rearranging the classroom. She set up 5 groups of 4 desks each in clusters and looked through the pile of discarded art work to hang on the wall. She drew a picture of a forest scene on the white board, with her name Ms. Delahunt written into the trees.

"I see you've made yourself at home." A deep voice said from behind her as she was finishing hanging a finger painting. Sydney looked over her shoulder while she was on her tip toes and found herself looking at one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. He was tall, 6'5" at least, with short black hair that shined even in the fluorescent lighting. His caramel colored skin was taut over defined muscles and his face was defined and hardened but his eyes danced, showcasing a child-like quality.

Sydney laughed, "Yeah, this place was a little sad, so I figured I'd do something for the time being. I'm Sydney, by the way." She said and held out her hand to the man.

"Nice to meet you Sydney, I'm Seth, or Mr. Clearwater to my kids. I teach 2nd grade next door. We'll be seeing a lot of each other, I'm afraid." He joked. "Do you think you have everything you need? I don't have much to spare but if you needed anything, I can lend you paper or pens or whatever."

Sydney looked around, "I think I'm good for today, the sub that's been covering is going to be here so they'll fill me in on what's what and where the students are at. I can see what I need for supplies and then make a run at the end of the day." Seth nodded and sat in one of the too small chairs, and it was a funny sight to see, his giant body crowded down into that tiny chair and Sydney couldn't help but to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. There's just no regular sized chairs anywhere in this damn place, so get used to seeing all of this" he gestured down his body, laughing as well, "trying to fit into these."

A bell rang, then, and Seth stood up, "Well, let me know if you need anything, and let me know whether or not the students eat you alive. You should have at least one friend though; my buddy Jake's daughter is in this class and she's a sweetheart. Good luck Sydney!" He smiled to her and ducked out of the doorway.

She smiled and turned back towards the classroom, "Here we go." She said under her breath.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: The songs to accompany this chapter are "Moments Passed" by Dermot Kennedy, "I Feel Like I'm Drowning" by Two Feet, "Ghosts Embodied" by Nahko and Medicine For The People, "I Am The Moon" by The White Buffalo. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

He could feel the solid earth beneath him, the dirt filling underneath his claws. The act of breathing was easier than thinking and he could smell and see all around him. A squirrel above him chewing through a leaf that was crunchy from the lack of rain the last few days, a hiker who was out of shape a mile ahead laboring through a trail. He could feel the breeze between each hair on his back, each breath bringing all new scents.

As he settled into his shift, he could feel how alone he was, he ensured that at least once a day he was phased alone, even if only for 10 minutes, he needed the respite. It was his only time to think, or rather to do anything but think. He could just let the wolf take over, as it wanted to do so desperately every second of every day. He took a deep breath and instinct took over. He didn't smell it at first but now it was a full blown scent trail, two miles west.

Bloodsucker.

He took off without thinking, his paws thudding against the soft earth silently and he navigated through the trees with ease for such a large animal. He let out a piercing howl, alerting the rest of his pack to phase immediately. Within seconds, he could feel the presence of Jared and Paul and without breaking his stride, let his location and the scent trail he had caught filter into the pack mind.

" _I'm a half mile east of it, I can be there in less than a minute"_ Jared thought. Jacob thought his acknowledgement and kept pushing, faster and faster, wanting to be there when Jared arrived for backup.

" _Jake, get here now."_ Jared's thoughts were frantic, scattered.  
" _What, you can't handle one all by yourself?"_ Paul shot back sarcastically.

At that moment, Jacob arrived to where Jared was skittishly pacing back and forth, his tail between his legs, all the while snarling. It took the briefest of moments for Jacob to catalog what his mind was seeing before he really recognized what was happening.

Before him stood someone he had once known, someone he had once loved. Bella. But this wasn't the girl he remembered, this wasn't the girl he had spent countless nights holding himself together to stop the overwhelming feeling of abandonment from.

This…thing wasn't even human, it was a shell of a person, a façade to shield of the most absolute of evils. Her hair was the same beautiful brown, but it was unnaturally shiny, flowing too easily in the breeze, her stink filtering through the air between them and shoving itself in his nose. She had her back turned to them, and when she moved the slightest bit, Jacob saw a little girl in Bella's arms and he panicked.

This wasn't any little girl, this was his little girl, his Kyra, his daughter.

" _How did we miss her scent?!"_ Jake could hear Paul screaming in his mind. Everyone was as protective of Kyra as Jake was, she was one of the pack's cubs.

A snarl erupted from Jacob's chest unconsciously and it took everything in his power not to rip Bella's head from her shoulders. Her red eyes made contact with his, which surprised him to know she was feeding on humans, and she cocked her head to the side, giving the illusion of curiosity but it was a manufactured look, so fake that he and his wolf saw right through it.

" _As soon as I have Kyra, rip that bitch to shreds."_ Jacob commanded as Paul ran up to the scene. His wolf snarling so aggressively, Jacob could feel the vibrations form Paul's chest from 50 feet away.

He knew he had to talk to her human, but the wolf physically wouldn't let him phase, wouldn't let him try to wrangle the beast within. The wolf snarled and erupted, the possessiveness he felt for the child and the clamoring to kill his mortal enemy was eating him alive from the inside out. Jacob took a moment before mentally wrangling the beast down, down. He could feel the familiar pull of skin snapping taut and he took a few steps forward in the process.

"Jacob. My Jacob…" Bella whispered, in awe.

"What are you doing here, Bella?" Jacob asked, using all of his energy to keep his voice calm, steady. When, in reality, inside he was screaming.

"I came to see you, of course, I miss you. I need my best friend back." She said sweetly, standing up and pulling Kyra to her feet. "And I wanted to meet this little one. Why didn't you tell me you had a daughter?" She smiled down on Kyra, who was looking between Jacob and Bella with such fear that Jacob could feel his heart being shredded to ribbons.

"I think the time for pleasantries has come and gone. You chose your life, I chose mine. I would like to know why you have my daughter though, and what you thought gave you the right to take her in the first place." Jacob said, his hands behind his back, pacing slowly in front of the two snarling wolves, giving the appearance of overwhelming calm, his eyes never leaving the two girls in front of him.

"What if I told you I chose wrong? What if I made a mistake? You and I were supposed to end up together, we both know it, I was just too young and naive to realize it back then. We could have a life together, Jake. It won't be easy, but when has anything been easy for us?" Bella said, her eyes solicitously raking over his body, as if committing it to memory.

He laughed at this, "You really think that we could work now? You realize we're natural born enemies…well, in your case, you chose to become my enemy. You chose, Bella, all those years ago. I can't help you if you are regretting your decision. But I am going to need my daughter back, she's terrified and I'd like to make sure she's safe."

Bella's eyes squinted at him, gauging his response. "No." She said, simply.

Jacob stopped pacing then, and turned to face them head on. "Bella, I really don't want to have to kill you."

She smiled then, a smile that scared the shit out of Jacob for it held nothing but disdain and malice masked by sweetness. He straightened, and leaned his head slightly to the right, doing an innumerable amount of calculations in his head as he took a single breath in, and then released it.

He could sense 4 other wolves in the distance, far enough away that she couldn't see them but close enough to be here in less than thirty seconds if he called for them. But she acted quickly, taking him by surprise.

In less than a blink of an eye, she swooped down and bit Kyra, looking into Jacob's eye and launched forward, grabbing his head between her two hands while standing on his shoulders, trying to rip him apart. He could feel the muscles in his neck straining against the insurmountable force.

With a strangled gasp, Jacob woke up from that terrible dream panting and cursing, covered in sweat. He looked around his room quickly, cataloging each item of furniture. He willed his heart to beat quieter so he could listen for the most important heart beat in his existence, pounding steadily in the room next door. He still needed to look at her.

He flung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his face in his hands and his elbows on his legs. His long braid falling over his shoulders. He let himself breathe, letting the dream fade away while the adrenaline coursed and burned through his veins. It was a side effect of the phasing, anytime he even had a remote encounter with something minutely out of the ordinary, his adrenaline was jacked so high it could kill a full grown grizzly.

He had grown into himself since he was 16, and his body told everyone around him not to fuck with him. He was 6'7" with broad shoulders and long black hair usually tied in a braid. His muscles rippled and his once boyish face had hardened over the years. His cheekbones were angular and his dark brown eyes were stoic.

He pushed himself off the bed and walked silently to the room next to his. He pushed the door open and looked at his sleeping daughter. Her long black hair spread around her, and the sheets twisted like she had been in a fight with a tornado, her arms flung to one side. He smirked and went over to her to tuck her back in, pulling the blanket around her.

"Sweet dreams, little one." He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so he went into the kitchen, looking for coffee. Glancing at the clock, 3:48 am, he sighed. He knew it would be a long day. He had patrol for 6 hours at 9am, then would be in the garage until 10pm once he had picked Kyra up from school and dropped her off with Emily.

Embry, Quil and Jacob had opened a garage a few years ago, needing more income for their voracious appetites and pride no longer allowing them to live with their parents rent free. It worked with patrol schedules, they could come in when patrols were done and work as long or as short as they needed to. They offered better prices than anyone else in the area so they always had a steady stream of broken cars, despite the boys' reputations.

It had started when they were about 18, the testosterone and adrenaline so potent in their bodies that they snapped at the smallest of things. Embry had once beat a man within an inch of his life solely because the man's shoe was untied and the sound of the plastic wrapped at the end of his lace was bouncing against tile and it had hurt Embry's extremely sensitive ears. Each of the pack's members had been bailed out of jail for some reason or another, usually fighting, the tribe's elders usually the ones writing the checks with their heads bowed in disappointment. But Jacob didn't care how they felt, they didn't have to live in the constant hell that consumed their bodies.

When they were teenagers, it was easier to feel purposeful, with the constant stream of even nomadic leeches running through the area, they were able to systematically track and hunt, but it had been months since the last time any of them had even caught a scent of one. They were like rabid, feral animals trapped in cages.

Jake had become Alpha around the time he turned 22 and resented it at first, Sam wanting to spend more time with Emily and since she was pregnant with their first child at the time, he figured it would be appropriate to pass the baton.

But as Jacob grew into the role, the role and he became synonymous. Commands were easier to pass, the pack order seemed to fall into place without anyone trying to jockey for positions. It had been a lot to take on, but as the blood line was finally in the role it sought, the heavy burden became less and less, the more Jacob accepted his place.

With the pack now at 12 members, Jacob had to mentally keep track of everyone's schedules and be aware of conflicts before they even began, which was mentally exhausting. Granted, he kept a tight ship, but they were still young and wanted to exercise their right to have fun, even if life had screwed them over with predetermined destiny.

The one shining moment in Jacob's life was Kyra. She was 7 years old now, the youngest in her grade, and was the pride and joy of Jacob's life. After he learned of Bella's plan to marry Cullen, he had run as far as he could. Eventually making it to the Arctic Circle in Canada, and turned around. He had been gone a year before he returned, and that's when he slipped into his detrimental habits, still trying to escape in any way he could.

He had slept with every girl who would have him, and drank himself into oblivion as often as he could. He had only been 17 at the time, and he didn't care about consequences. It was only too easy on the reservation, liquor readily provided for anyone who asked, and even to those who didn't ask. He had watched friends he went to school with before he had started phasing try harder and harder drugs, trying to chase a high that would allow them to flee from the poverty stricken life they led.

Kyra's mother, Jenna, hadn't told Jacob that Kyra was his until Kyra was 3 years old, and he had only found out because Jenna had shown up in the middle of the night, drunk and high and had deposited Kyra on his doorstep after falling asleep on his porch.

After a paternity test conducted by Sue confirmed he was Kyra's father, he had moved Kyra in to live with him. He was devastated he had missed the first few years of her life, but he would make up for it in whatever way he could.

He strove to be as good of a father as his father had been to him. Billy still came over every Saturday, but his health was declining rapidly and Jacob had hired a full time nurse to stay with him, who was relieved by Tiffany Call after she got off work.

He hadn't spoken to Bella or the Cullen's since he had run, over 8 years ago, she did reach out through letters to Billy's house every 6 months or so, but they always found a new home in the trash, unopened. He had used his teenage heartbreak to fuel his aggression, channeled it into becoming a better wolf.

As he sat on the couch with his coffee in his hands, he glanced around his home. He had bought it when he was 21, and he had been so proud. It was a simple house, 2 bedrooms, one bath, with a kitchen that was older than the state of Washington and a bathroom who only had hot water occasionally. The furnishings were simple, and he hadn't bothered to repaint the walls, leaving it to look older than it actually was. But it was his.

He filed through the bills on his coffee table, giving them the attention they needed months ago.

 _Final Notice.  
Credit Card Bill.  
Electric Bill.  
Check from Elders…which had been opened._

Jenna.  
Jacob rolled his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. Jenna thought that since Kyra was getting to stay with Jacob, she would get to as well. He had tried to explain to her that he wanted nothing to do with her and that she wasn't a fit mother, but Jenna knew a money train when she saw one. Jacob had a stable income, had a house she could crash at. And apparently, a house she could steal from.

Jenna had been one of the flings Jacob had years ago but didn't think twice when he saw she was pregnant. People slept around, it wasn't like she was a virgin when he had been with her. But she had drank almost her entire pregnancy, finally calling it quits during her last month. But as soon as Kyra was born, she picked right back up where she left off but decided to throw drugs into the mix. Even now, she was god knows where and with god knows who.

Jenna had been fun while it lasted but he hadn't dated anyone...well, ever. He had been with women, sure, but he hadn't had a relationship with anyone lasting longer than a couple months. And they only lasted that long because he only would see them once a week. Dating was difficult when you were an Alpha wolf of a pack of shape-shifting humans who protected their tribe from covens of vampires that roamed. It's not like he could take a girl out to dinner and just tell her the truth, so he tended to stay away from getting close to anyone who could disrupt the life he had spent years building and cultivating.

Jacob rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. He would talk to her in the morning. After paying the bills and watching crappy TV, the sun coming up through the window caught his eye. He made his way to the kitchen and started making breakfast for him and Kyra when he could hear heavy breathing outside, he listened for a moment before bracing himself.

The front door flew open and Jenna nearly fell in, having had rested all of her weight on the door. "Shitfuck" she said and giggled on the floor. She looked up, her head hanging heavy, and tried to look around the room but it was proving to be too laborious for her.

Jenna had been beautiful when Jacob had first met her. Her black hair shiny and long, even curling a little at the ends. She had been full of life and was going to the community college nearby, wanting to be a nurse. For a while, he thought he could make a life with this girl, but she fell into the dark hole that was drinking, and Jacob didn't dive in after her. Now, she always looked tired, her face puffy from drinking and her eyes tinged yellow from her liver failing.

"Jenna." Jacob growled from his spot in the kitchen.

"Aw, wellll ain't you fuckin' adorable makin' me breakfas'" She slurred, trying to keep her head from bobbing.

"Give me my money back and get the hell out." He gritted out through his teeth.

"Noooo can do. Drank it all away." She was standing now, swaying near the front door.

Jacob closed his eyes, his patience wearing thin. Money was tight, money was always tight and he relied on those checks from the Elders for his groceries, he would have to spend the next few weekends at the garage to make up for it.

"You'll pay me back. I'll make sure of it. Now get out." He said, and turned back towards the fridge.

"I came 'cuz I wanted ta see ya. We use to talk, Jake, figure shit out together." She said, leaning back against the closed front door.

"We never figured anything out together. You got pregnant because I was an idiot and didn't think and now we have a daughter, who, unless you want her to see you like this, I would suggest you get the hell out of my house. Now." Jake said, not bothering to look at her.

"You son a bitch! You never take care of me! I gave birth to our daughter, YOUR daughter, and this is how you repay me? You sick bastard!" She was yelling now, her words becoming clear all of the sudden.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE." Jacob roared, his fists clenched at his side, his breathing erratic.

"Daddy?" He heard a tiny voice ask in the corner. He looked to see Kyra, pillow creases on her face from sleep and her eyes wide, her blanket clutched in her fist.

Jacob took a deep breath, he had been so mad he hadn't even heard her get up.

"Hey baby, how about you go back to sleep, momma was just leaving, she'll be back to see you later. You have school in a couple hours, I don't want you to be tired, okay?" He asked, gently, a complete shift from where he was moments ago.

Kyra nodded and walked back towards her bedroom, her feet shuffling.

Jacob turned towards Jenna and without saying a word, opened the front door and guided her to the porch. She seemed resigned at this point, having gotten the rise out of him that she had come for and probably embarrassed to be that drunk in front of her child.

Jacob closed and locked the door behind her and made a mental note to change the locks later in the day. Not that he hadn't done that 5 times already. He walked back to Kyra's room and she was sitting on her small bed, clutching her knees to her chest.

"Heyyy baby, it's okay, I'm sorry I got so upset, I didn't mean to yell." Jacob whispered, sitting next to her and rubbed small circles on her back.

She shook her head, "Momma was drunk again wasn't she?" She asked. Jacob froze. She was too young, too young to know about things like this. Too young to be asking these questions.

"She just had a long night, baby, she'll be better tomorrow. Now, why don't you sleep for a little longer? I'll have breakfast waiting when you wake up, sound good? I'll even make pancakes." Jacob teased.

"Daddy, you always burn the pancakes. Maybe just cereal." Kyra pinched his nose before sliding back down into her bed.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Cereal it is." Jacob rolled his eyes and tucked her in. "I love you so much, little one. Know that you're always safe when I'm around."

She smiled up at him and settled further into bed. He smoothed her hair down on her head and pressed another kiss to her forehead.

Walking back to the living room, he felt dejected. His own daughter knew that her mother was drunk and saw him lose his temper. He shook his head and pulled out his phone.

"Hey Paul, it's me. No, nothing's wrong, I just need a favor." Jacob had called the one person he could think of who had dealt with a situation as bad as Kyra's, Paul might have some advice, something he could use. It was 5am now, and most of the pack members rarely slept past 430, their bodies were like a hotbed of chemicals and emotions, it seemed like they were always on edge.

A small tap at the door signaled he had already arrived. "That was fast" Jacob mused, letting Paul in.

Paul was almost as tall as Jacob but equally as fearsome looking. He was the most vicious member of their pack and even as he got older, he got smarter with his hunting. Granted, he hadn't had to use those tactics in what felt like forever, but he was a great teacher to the younger shifters.

They had a storied past, but had become close as the years passed. Jacob considered him his second.

"Jenna come back?" Paul asked, helping himself to the leftovers sitting in Jacob's fridge. Jacob just nodded.

"Kyra walked out and saw her, she was bad this time, I mean, when is she not anymore, but I lost it and just yelled and Kyra watched the whole thing. Then she asked if her momma was drunk again." Jacob finished the sentence in a whisper, knowing Paul could hear him perfectly.

Paul swallowed what was in his mouth, looking at Jacob and nodded. "She's probably known for a while. You know how the kids talk at school. 'My daddy drinks vodka' 'Well my momma drinks rum' They talk about it early on, doesn't make it easier as a parent, but here we are."

Jacob just sighed and put his head into his hands at the table. "I just wanted things to be better for her. I wanted her to have a chance. But with me tied to this place like I am, and her mom drinking away my pack stipend, I'm just afraid Kyra will be stuck on the rez forever."

"She stole your pack money? What the hell…that's new. She hasn't done that before, has she?" Paul asked, shoving another forkful of food into his mouth.

Jacob shook his head. "I mean, I know it's not much but damn. That's groceries. Or at least the electric bill."

"We could always cover you, if you need, not saying you do, but we can help. Rachel and I have been socking some away for a bit." Paul added.

"Nah, I'm good, I'm just pissed she did it. Broke into my house and stole money from my table." Jacob let out a long breath. "So, I should just talk to Kyra? Tell her the truth? She's only 7, she's too young for shit like this."

Paul shrugged. "But she's seen it already, man, pretending like it's not happening isn't helping anyone. Best thing anyone ever did for me was talk to me about my old man's habits. Made it feel like I wasn't making shit up, you know?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Sure thing. Thanks for the food, I'm gonna get back to Rachel, hell hath no fury like a pregnant Rachel." Paul smiled.

Jacob stood up to shake his hand. "Don't envy you there. See ya later and uh, thanks again."

Paul nodded and ducked out of the front door as Jacob turned back to the kitchen. 6:45am.

"Kyyyyyyyyyyyyra!" Jacob called from the kitchen "Come get breakfast or I'll cook you pancakes!"

The rest of their morning routine passed as normal, Kyra was talking about the new teacher that would be starting today and she hoped this teacher was nicer than their last.

Jacob pulled on Kyra's jacket as they walked out the front door, and she climbed into his truck. He had held onto the Rabbit for as long as he could but he eventually gave in and bought a truck when the Rabbit had sputtered out its last breath a couple years ago.

Pulling into the school parking lot, Jacob got out and picked up Kyra, throwing her over his shoulder. "Daddy! Put me down!"

Jacob just smiled, "Sorry babe, can't hear you." Kyra harrumphed against his back and let it happen. Walking through the school, he put her back down on her feet outside of her classroom.

"I'm gonna go talk to Uncle Seth then I'll come say goodbye, okay?" Jacob bent down and kissed her forehead, "I'll be right back." Kyra shrugged her backpack into place and nodded once, turning into her classroom.

Opening the door one down, he leaned his head in, "Hey Seth, mind covering Brady's patrol at 4 today? He's got a doctor's appointment for a couple hours." Seth just nodded in Jacob's direction.

Seth was covered in children. Literally covered in children. Since he was such a large man, children found that he was an obstacle meant to be climbed and that's how he started every day with his class. Holding 4 children from each arm and 2 on each leg he bellowed, "Everyone say bye Mr. Black!"

A chorus of shrieks and giggles erupted into a "Bye Mista Black!" Jacob smiled and closed the door behind him, shaking his head.

He walked back to Kyra's classroom but was confused if he had walked into the wrong room. It had been completely rearranged and there was art adorning the walls. A beautiful, lifelike drawing of the forest right outside the window was on the whiteboard and there was a glowing energy to the room.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Jacob tore his gaze from the art pieces from the children he had come to know and love and looked down at his daughter, who was dragging a woman by the hand. "This is the new teacher I was telling you about this morning at cereal! Look it what she did! It's so pretty in here!"

Jacob smiled and followed the connected hands up the woman's arm and to her face. She was beautiful. Not just beautiful, she was radiant. Like kindness exuded from her very core and it leaked out into the world. But what hit him the hardest was her smell, it was absolutely intoxicating. Like the pine trees right after a heavy rainstorm when the earth feels new and alive mixed with some sort of flower, lavender maybe? Jacob blinked twice, realizing he was staring and hadn't heard a word she had said.

"I'm Jacob Black, Kyra's dad." He said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you Jacob. I'm Sydney Delahunt, the new teacher. Say, do you Quileute's put something in the water? I thought Seth was a large guy, but you seem to take the cake." She laughed and it was one of the most beautiful sounds Jacob had heard.

He couldn't figure out why he was feeling this way. It wasn't an imprint, he knew what that felt like from the pack mind. But, he was so drawn to her.

He studied her face again before answering, "We don't put anything in the water, no, we just drink from our own special source." He said then winked down at Kyra who giggled. "It's nice to meet you, too. What brings you to our little tribe?"

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "You know, life happens and an opportunity presented itself so I took it. I'm certainly glad I did. Well, I should get to it. Lots of children vying for my attention at the moment." With that she smiled again, knocking the wind out of Jacob and turned towards the class.

"Isn't she pretty?!" Kyra practically screeched. Jacob just nodded and stuck his tongue out at Kyra.

"Okay little one, I'll be back after school. I love you." He bent completely in half to reach her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Kyra just waved and bounded for Ms. Delahunt, seemingly forgetting Jacob.

Ms. Delahunt hadn't, and stole one last look at Jacob before he turned around. Their eyes met and they both smiled. Jacob nodded his head in acknowledgement and turned for the door.

Who was she? Why was he feeling like this?

Questions flooded his mind as he got to his truck and drove back to his house. He parked, stripped down at the edge of the forest and phased, thinking of Sydney Delahunt.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Songs for the chapter are "Tear Up This Town- Orchestral Version" by Keane, "Vice" by Miranda Lambert, "Everyone Else" by London Grammar, "Unwriteable Girl" by Gregory Alan Isakov. Enjoy!

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"Okay! Who can tell me what the answer to this math problem is?" Sydney asked, trying desperately to get the student's attention after a long day. This was their last math problem and the students were over it. Only one more hour and they were free, and they were all too aware of that fact.

Two hands shot up in the air. Sydney breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Yes, Jedidiah?" She asked, pointing to the small boy in the corner.

"Sixteen!" He shouted, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Exactly right! Great job Jed, can I call you Jed?" Sydney asked, writing 16 on the board then looking back towards the corner, the boy nodded and smiled sheepishly, looking down to his feet.

As the first day had gone on, Sydney had become all too aware of how far behind this class was. They were way off course, having barely learned the basics. She silently cursed the previous teacher.

What worried her the most, though, was socially, these students were stunted. They were reading at the first-grade level and all had the vocabulary of a Kindergartener. There were a few exceptions, of course, but all around, she had a lot of work to do.

"Enough math for today, what do you guys think?" She asked, and was greeted with obnoxious cheers. Sydney laughed and shook her head, "How about we make some more art for these sad walls? Before we move, I want everyone to think of their favorite animal. What color is it? Does it have fur? Scales? A tail? Does it moo or squeak or crow? Where does it live? Does it play with its friends or does it like to hang out alone? I want you to give me a representation of this animal. It doesn't have to be a drawing, it could be a poem about this animal, or you could make the animal a home out of cardboard. Whatever you want it to be. You have until the end of the day, ready…set...go!"

And with that a flurry of motion was put in place, students scrambling for the arts and crafts supplies and excitedly comparing notes as to what they would create. Sydney smiled and sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"Ms. Delahunt, what does reprelentations mean?" She heard from behind her, and little June Dakota was twisting her hands anxiously. Sydney bent down to look at her and smiled as nicely as she could.

"That's a great question, and you know what, you were the only one brave enough to ask me. Representation is a thing, usually a picture or words, that is meant to show you what something is. Like the drawing on the board of the forest this morning was my representation of my love for trees and the way the pine trees smell. Does that make sense?" Sydney said, never breaking eye contact with the child.

June nodded and looked up shyly, "Thanks Ms. Delahunt." She practically whispered.

Sydney walked her back to her seat and muttered under her breath, "Didn't think I would have to explain existential questions to 7-year old's today."

After the flurry of commotion died down, each student engrossed in their project, the minutes ticked down to the end of school. Right before the bell signaling the end of their day, the students were showing off their art pieces with a pride that made Sydney's heart beat in time to the songs their smiles were singing.

She began the long process of cleaning as the students filtered out to meet their parents. She played music from her phone and began humming along as the hallway erupted with noise from the students emptying into it.

"How was the first day?" She heard Seth ask. She looked up and saw him leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, looking around the destroyed classroom with a raised eyebrow. Sydney laughed heartily.

"Definitely not as bad as it looks. We did an art project to end the day and I made the mistake of giving them free reign of the supplies. Won't be doing that again. The projects actually came out really great though, I asked them about their favorite animals and they could do it in whatever medium they wanted. Some of them are crazy creative." Sydney said, gushing. She gestured to the pile of new projects that lined the counter along the wall.

Seth walked over to where the projects were and a small smile formed on his lips. He picked up one project in particular and let a laugh out through his nose. "Figures." He muttered.

"Whose is that?" Sydney asked, bringing a fistful of pipe cleaners to their respective homes. She looked around Seth and saw a drawing of a wolf, but it wasn't a normal drawing for a third-grade mind. Using only straight lines the student had captured the essence of the wolf's fierce protectiveness of a small child standing in the forefront of the picture. There were no curves whatsoever in the drawing, just straight lines overlapping each other in a way that created dimension and it evoked such emotion.

"Well holy crap, we got some talented kids, don't we?" Sydney said, blown away. She had only glanced at some of the projects, wanting to save this moment for after she had finished cleaning as a reward.

"That we do. They'll definitely surprise you, that's for sure." Seth said happily and plopped down onto her chair.

"Not even gonna bother to help me, then?" Sydney asked, teasing. Seth just shook his head and propped his feet up on his desk and folded his hands behind his head.

"How was the first day? Aren't they just wonderful?!" Sydney turned to see Kim standing in the doorway, Kim's smile faltering as she took in the classroom. "What happened in here?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"Newbie let the kids have total access to the arts and crafts, it's like rule number one of teaching. Always have rules on supplies." Seth said with his eyes closed. Sydney just rolled her eyes.

"Again, it's not that bad. And the projects we got from it were totally worth the mess. And yes, they are wonderful, truly wonderful, I'm just a little worried they're not where they should be academically." Sydney admitted truthfully.

Kim looked at Sydney thoughtfully and said, "Yeah, but their education hasn't really been consistent until this point, teachers are in and out of here all the time, so they're lucky to get the same teacher for more than 5 months. They're doing their best." She smiled at that thought.

Sydney just nodded and decided that she would do everything in her power to give these kids as much love and education as she physically could in the next few months.

"Ms. Delahunt? Can I stay with you and Uncle Seth until my daddy gets here?" Sydney heard a little voice ask and turned around. Kyra Black was standing in the doorway, waiting for permission.

"Of course you can!" Sydney smiled "But you get to help me clean up because your Uncle Seth is very busy sleeping." Sydney mock-whispered and Kyra giggled.

"He sleeps a lot, my daddy says he's lazy." Kyra whispered back.

"Hey now! I am not! That's it!" Seth shot up and scooped Kyra up, throwing her over his shoulder and spun in circles, knocking into desks and creating more of a mess than there was to begin with. Sydney and Kim were laughing, trying to stay out of the way of the flying limbs.

"Uncle Seth! Put me down! My daddy is gonna make you run extra!" She shrieked. Sydney noticed the last declaration and thought it was odd, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, okay, okay, now we really have to clean, thanks to your Uncle Seth knocking LITERALLY EVERYTHING onto the ground." Sydney laughed, grabbing Kyra and putting her on her feet. After making sure her hair was back in it's rightful place she lightly bopped Kyra on the nose. "What do you say you and I get all the crayons and markers and we make your Uncle Seth clean up all the glitter?"

Kyra giggled and said, "Yes! Then Uncle Seth can be a unicorn." Seth loudly scoffed at the two of them and Kim burst into laughter.

"Hey, her idea, not mine." Sydney joked as she got to work grabbing markers. Kim joined them too, and they spent the next few minutes joking and laughing and "accidentally" throwing glitter into Seth's hair when they thought he wasn't looking.

Sydney hadn't smiled this much in months and her cheeks began to hurt from laughing. She began humming to the tune playing on her phone and then started softly singing while she cleaned. It wasn't until she heard a throat clear that she turned around and saw Kyra's father, Jacob standing just inside the door, watching them with an amused expression on his face.

Jacob was such a beautiful, beautiful man. He was that visceral handsome that had women wondering why they were so physically attracted to the man before them. He had dark ebony hair that was sleek straight that went past his shoulders, which had almost always been in a braid when Sydney saw him. His russet colored skin melted like honey over his defined muscles. His tall frame helped accommodate the broad muscles, but he carried himself in a way that seemed to diminish his size, never boasting. His dark eyes seemed to swallow his pupils whole, like an endless abyss that pooled just below the surface.

"Daddy! Come look it! I made a picture" Kyra squealed, and grabbed her father's hand, pulling him easily to the collection of animal renditions. "This one is mine! Do you like it?!" She asked, searching her father's face for approval, and Sydney couldn't help but smile at the scene.

What made Jacob most attractive though, was his absolute and unmatched love for his daughter.

Jacob was looking at the picture with such awe and devotion it made Sydney's heart flutter.

"Baby, you made this? This is the best picture I've ever seen, I'm so proud of you." Jacob said, bending down onto his knee to look Kyra in the eye. "I know the perfect spot for it on the wall, so we can always see it." Jacob kissed his daughter's forehead and smiled proudly at her.

"No go, Jake. Ms. Delahunt is keeping them to proudly display on her classroom walls, you'll have to pry it from her hands first." Seth interjected, scooping glitter into his hand from the edge of the desk. Sydney looked up at Seth to correct him but she hadn't looked at him properly since they had showered him with glitter and she came unglued.

She laughed so hard, she scared Kim, who in turn, looked up and immediately burst into laughter as well. Jacob turned towards Seth, and looked at him for the first time since entering the room and let out a booming, warm laugh. Seth jerked his head up and tilted his head, confused.

"What? She is, that's what the project was, right, Sydney? Why are you guys laughing?!" Seth asked, dumping the glitter in his hand into a container, now getting frustrated.

Sydney wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and shook her head, "Seth, we've been putting glitter on your head this entire time and I didn't see how much of it had stuck, I'm sorry but that stuff doesn't come out for days…weeks even." Seth's eyes grew wide and he ran next door to look in the mirror.

"OH COME ON." They all heard shouted from next door and fell into another round of laughter.

"And Kyra, if you want to take your drawing home, you're more than welcome to, I just thought these walls could use some personality, that's why we made them today, but we'll always make more. It's totally up to you." Sydney said, placing the last of the art supplies in their rightful place.

Kyra looked between Sydney and Jacob, deep in thought. She put both of her hands on her hips and continued to look back and forth.

"Honey, that wasn't meant to be a life or death decision. We can always make more at home, it's okay." Jacob said to his daughter. Kyra thought about that for a moment and nodded.

"In that case, I'll let you have the honors of hanging the first picture on the wall in the 'Animal Collective'" Sydney said, handing Kyra a piece of tape.

Sydney watched as Jacob easily picked up Kyra and they walked around her classroom, looking for the perfect spot. He had such patience with his daughter and Sydney caught herself staring.

"Hey Seth, don't forget your shift starts at 4." Jacob called the other room, still holding onto Kyra as she taped the drawing up on the wall, slanted.

"It's perfect!" Sydney said, clasping her hands together. "That's a great spot for it, yours will probably steal the show but I'm gonna hang everyone else's up around yours, sound good?" Sydney winked at Kyra, who smiled broadly, Sydney hadn't noticed before but she was missing a couple of teeth and her goofy grin was just so adorable.

"Well, what do you say we get you home so I can get to work, little one?" Jacob asked Kyra. Kyra nodded and smiled again at Sydney.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Delahunt!" She exclaimed and buried her head between Jacob's shoulder and head, nestling into him. Jacob bent down to grab her backpack and looked towards Sydney.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her, we'll see you tomorrow, I hope?" Jacob asked.

Sydney nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear unconsciously. "Have a good night, you two." Jacob said to Kim and Sydney and walked out, his daughter in tow.

"Well, since we're all cleaned up in here, do you need help with anything else?" Kim asked, straightening a chair that had been knocked over by Seth. Sydney took in the classroom and shook her head, pleased with how it looked for now.

"I think I'm good for today, but do you know where I could find school supplies? I want to buy some before tomorrow and I doubt there's a specialty store in Forks." Sydney asked. Kim thought for a moment.

"Honestly the only one I can think of is in Port Angeles, and it probably closes pretty soon so I'd head out now if you wanted to get it all today." Kim replied.

Sydney smiled and said her thanks one more time before grabbing her purse from the teacher's desk sitting in the corner. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Sydney asked. Kim nodded and waved, walking out the classroom door.

Sydney turned off the lights with one last look towards the classroom and smiled. This new life was going to be so much more than she thought it would be.

She walked to her car, throwing her purse over her shoulder and saw Seth and Jacob conversing seriously in the corner of the parking lot, next to a truck. She raised her hand to wave goodbye to them but thought better of it, they looked to be discussing something she didn't want to interrupt.

She got into her car and input the location into her phone, setting it to rest in the cup holder. She put the car in reverse and exited the parking lot, stealing one last glance towards Seth and Jacob. They were such beautiful men, it was hard not to look. She laughed at herself and pulled onto the main road, creating a list of items she needed to make her classroom feel like a home.

After finding the items she needed and putting them on her credit card, her funds dwindling quickly after establishing herself here so fast, with the next paycheck two weeks away. She set out back towards Forks, driving the slick roads that twisted and turned, she caught a glimpse of grey darting in between the trees in the forest.

"Okay! What is that?!" She exclaimed, pulling over to the side of the road. She threw the car in park and jumped out, running towards the trees. "Whatever you are, just show yourself. I've seen you 3 times now and I'm starting to think I'm going crazy!" She yelled to the trees. It took all of 3 ragged breaths before she started laughing at herself.

Here she was in the middle of the woods, on the road, alone, and she was yelling at a potentially deadly animal to show itself to her to prove she wasn't going crazy? Yeah. Definitely not crazy.

She threw her hands up in exasperation and humor and shouted over her shoulder as she walked to her car, "I know you're there." She got back into her car and put it in drive, driving the short distance back to her house.

Her house. She smiled again for what felt like the 800th time that day at that thought. Her house. No one else's.

Pulling into her driveway, she looked at her handiwork. The dark green standing out against the white trim but blending into the scenery behind it. The gutters were all where they were supposed to be and the front screen hung properly now. The porch railings still needed some work but she would wait until the weekend to tackle that project. Her home.

Walking in with her arms full of bags, she felt her phone vibrating. Dropping the bags onto the couch, she pulled her phone from her back pocket, looking at who was calling. _Brice._

She rolled her eyes and put the phone on the counter, letting it ring through to voicemail. She had nothing to say to him, nothing she wanted from him. It took him hurting her physically for her to realize it but she never would want him again. It vibrated once more, signaling she had received a voicemail.

As she organized her day's purchases on the coffee table in front of her and repacked them into bags, she was faintly aware of the multiple phone calls that she was getting, but figured it was Brice and didn't bother looking. She thought about changing her number, seeing as how he would have a harder time getting to her if she did that.

She got up to start making dinner, a simple plate of baked chicken and vegetables. She grabbed a book that she was reading last night and made herself comfortable on the couch. It wasn't until the words started blurring together that she realized how tired she was. Soon enough, she had fallen asleep on the couch with her book propped on her chest.

It wasn't until a dream, so beautiful and hopeful, had woken her to the darkness of her living room. She stretched her limbs, bookmarking her page and shuffled to the kitchen counter to grab her phone, yawning. She pressed the button on the side and saw that she had 15 missed calls, 20 texts and 5 voicemails.

"Jesusssss." She mumbled. She scrolled through the notifications.

 _Missed Call from Brice.  
Missed Call from Brice.  
Text from Brice, "Where are you? Why aren't you back home?"  
Text from Mom, "Brice came over. He's demanding to know where you are. I told him to go to hell."  
Text from Brice, "Babe, I'm worried. Your mom isn't answering me either. Are you okay?"  
5 Missed Calls from Brice.  
2 Missed Calls from Mom.  
Text from Brice, "Sweetheart, I'm coming to find you. I promise I'll find you. Don't worry, you'll be safe again soon."  
2 Missed Calls from Mom.  
Text from Mom, "Sweetie, I'm so sorry, he apparently came in when I wasn't home, he saw your flight itinerary on my calendar. He knows you went to Seattle. I'm gonna beat his ass for breaking and entering."  
Text from Brice, "I'll see you soon babe." _

"Fuck! No! God damn it. Damnitdamnitdamnitdamnit." Sydney cursed, wanting to throw her phone through the window. She started to panic for a moment, but took a steadying breath and thought about it rationally.

Brice would know she flew into Seattle, but he didn't know where she went after that. He wouldn't recognize the car because she had bought it here, the chances of him stopping in Forks were slim to none and her own mother didn't even know she was here. She had filled out paperwork with the school and diner but he probably wouldn't be able to trace her here.

What did he even want? Why was he so hell bent on seeing her again?

She needed to change her number. Immediately. She put the phone on airplane mode, not bothering to listen to the voicemails, and set her alarm. It was only 12:38am, she still had plenty of time to sleep off this worry before school tomorrow. She sighed and went to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and braiding her hair to sleep in.

She pulled on her flannel pajama pants and a t shirt and settled into bed. She took a deep breath and rolled onto her side, looking out the window of her bedroom, ambient light from the timber yard filtering through and illuminating the tree line. She wouldn't worry about Brice until she absolutely had to, he wouldn't have that power over her anymore, she wouldn't let him.

She could feel her eyelids getting heavier and let herself drift into sleep. Her dreams were fragmented and scattered but one in particular stood out. She was walking along the shore of a beach, the waves crashing and the salt air filling her nose, blowing her hair from her face. She was alone but she didn't feel lonely, she felt safe…protected. As she walked along the shore line, Jacob Black was standing there waiting for her, a knowing smile dancing on his lips. He was shirtless and Sydney could almost feel her heart stutter in her sleep, his abs defined, the broad expanse of his chest glistening in the moist air around them.

Her alarm clock's shrieks ripped through the silence and woke Sydney up, gasping for air. "Good lord, I need a new alarm." She rubbed her eyes as the dream faded and as she slowly woke up, she remembered all the things she had to decorate the classroom and was so excited, she jumped out of bed. She got dressed quickly and decided to eat breakfast in the car so she could get there faster.

Pulling into the school's parking lot she looked at the clock on her dash, 6:55am. School didn't start until 8:30. She had plenty of time.

She walked into the classroom, energized and excited and got right to work. She cleared a corner for it to be a reading nook and put down a small plush rug with pillows and a small cut log she had found by her house that acted as a table. She lined the walls with fairy lights, giving the room a soft glow, and she put the table top lamp she had found on her desk.

She put all the extra supplies she had bought in their new places, organizing them for easier access. She put all the books she had picked up from the thrift store on the shelves that lined the windows and lit a candle on her desk.

She hung up all the informational posters and made a giant tree on poster board out of each of the students' names, showing how intertwined they were. She got different colored tissue paper and made a collage that resembled stained glass on one of the larger windows, creating a visually stunning kaleidoscope of colors thrown against the boring tan of the shitty carpet that lined the floor.

Placing a different succulent on each child's desk and hanging up their artwork from yesterday alongside Kyra's, she took a step back to admired her work. She glanced down at her watch, 8:05am. Perfect timing.

She walked back to her desk and started working on today's lesson plans when she heard Kim's audible gasp. "It's so….wow! It's beautiful in here!" She exclaimed looking around the room which made Sydney blush.

"Thank you! It's amazing what $100 and a thrift store run can do. I'm so glad you like it!" Sydney said, gesturing for Kim to sit with her.

"I'm so glad you like it enough here to make yourself feel comfortable. It makes my heart happy." Kim gushed, taking a bit of a muffin. "Say, I know it's early on in the week, but what do you say we do something this weekend? A group of us usually gets together at a friend's house and we cookout. You're welcome to join!"

Sydney looked at her new friend and was taken aback by her offer. She had been in Forks less than a week and she felt so at home here already. Kim was so kind and welcoming, it blew Sydney away. "You know, I would actually love that. It sounds like fun!"

"Don't get too excited, Seth usually eats all the food, Sam and Emily's kids are hellions on wheels and you'll probably end up cleaning or cooking more than you bargained for." Kim joked, rolling her eyes.

"I do not eat _all_ the food, just a large majority of it. Got to keep up my girlish figure!" Seth said, poking his head in the classroom and then disappearing again. Sydney laughed, "I swear he knows exactly when someone is talking about him!"

"You have no idea" Kim muttered. "Well! I better get going, the kiddos will be here any minute, let's have lunch, yeah?"

Sydney nodded and stood with Kim. Sydney walked to the board and began writing out the day's schedule when she heard a wolf whistle from the doorway. "Well, well, well, look who had to up-stage the rest of the hallway with her impeccable decorating skills." Seth said, a smile on his face.

"You like it?" Sydney asked sheepishly. Seth just nodded, still looking around the room appreciatively.

"The kids are gonna freak." He simply said then looked at Sydney, a smile now beaming on his face, "I'm glad you did this. They deserve a nice place to come to, thanks for doing something they don't often get…effort." Sydney just blushed.

"Ms. Delahunt! It's like a fairy castle in here!" Kyra yelled from the doorway, gaining Sydney's attention immediately. Sydney let out a laugh and walked over to where Kyra and Jacob Black were standing, both wide eyed.

"I'm so glad you like it, Kyra. And look, your picture is still on the wall over there, but now so is everyone else's." Sydney gestured to the other wall, not able to take her eyes off Jacob for some reason. Maybe it was the dream she had last night.

She snapped out of it when he looked back at her, catching her by surprise. "It looks great in here. I'm impressed." He said, hooking his thumbs in his pockets and leaning against the doorframe. "Kim mentioned you'll be joining us this weekend, hope you're ready to wrestle Seth for food." He joked to which Seth let out an exasperated sigh and threw his hands above his head, walking out the door, hitting Jacob's shoulder in the process. Jacob just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, you'll be there as well?" Sydney asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. Jacob nodded and showed a small smile.

"Mista Black! I need to get to my classroom!" A small boy yelled from behind Jacob's legs and Jacob laughed, ducking into the room, giving access to a small herd of 3rd graders whose eyes all bugged out of their heads at the sight of the room.

A chorus of "Woah!" "Wow!" "This is so cool!"'s erupted from their mouths and Sydney's heart swelled. Children always knew how to make anyone feel better, especially people who were hurting. She felt proud that she was able to give them this space and was even more excited about teaching them now.

"It's times like this that I remember why I got into teaching in the first place…I just love them." Sydney said, watching her students run back and forth, trying to see as much of the room as they could. She could feel Jacob looking at her, and she looked back towards him. He was watching her with a look that she couldn't quite decipher and she glanced away quickly and looked back to her students. "Jed, don't touch the ends of those, they have sharp edges and they can cut your finger if you're not careful." She said with a raised voice to the small boy who was looking at the succulents with confusion and amazement.

"Are they real?!" Another boy asked. Sydney nodded, and said, "We'll talk about the plants once school gets started, but everyone is getting one to take care of." Which was well received, apparently, because all of the students rushed over to the desks and Sydney sighed.

"I'd be really impressed if any of those plants last past 3pm." Jacob said out of the side of his mouth. Sydney looked at him with a questioning glare.

"Oh, ye of little faith, you'd be surprised. I still had a plant my teacher gave me in 1st grade in my college dorm and then with me in my apartment. It was this adorable little wax agave and looked like a pink lotus flower. I had to leave it behind with this move, but just like I did, they'll take care of them." She said, somewhat lost in her memories.

Jacob just looked her over, a teasing smile on his lips, with his arms crossed before he nodded and said, "I know Kyra won't be able to leave that thing alone, she'll probably drown it trying to love it too much." He laughed. Sydney shrugged her shoulder and tilted her head as if to say, "What can you do?"

The warning bell rang then, and Sydney looked at Jacob. "I'll see you after school?" She asked.

"Definitely. And Sydney? Thanks again for all of this." He gestured to the classroom. "It means a lot to everyone, it's nice to know my daughter is in good hands." Sydney caught herself looking at his left hand to see if there was a ring there and when she saw there wasn't, she smiled unknowingly and waved, turning back towards the class.

"Okay everyone! Take your seats. Now, if you look on your desk, you'll see a plant that I picked out especially for you. These plants are called succulents and they don't need a lot of water to survive. Your job will be to take care of your plant for the rest of the school year. Sound like fun?" All of her students nodded enthusiastically.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly well, and Sydney could feel the rhythm of teaching coming back to her. At the end of the day, Kyra and Jedidiah both stayed behind, waiting for their parents.

Jacob had come and gotten Kyra and so Sydney was left with little Jedidiah. "Where do you think your parents are, Jed?" Jed just shrugged. He was coloring a sheet and was fixated on coloring every square inch of that paper.

It was now 4:15 and his parents should have been there an hour ago. Sydney walked to the front desk and saw that Kim was still there, "Hey, Jed's parents aren't here yet…should I wait with him or is there somewhere I should send him?"

Kim just shook her head, looking somber. "His mom is supposed to pick him up on Tuesdays but she likes to imbibe, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if she forgot. I can take him, he can come home with me until we find his mom." Sydney could feel her heart breaking for that beautiful child. She forgot? How do you forget your child? Instead she just muttered her thanks and went to go get Jed.

"Alright, bud, you're gonna go home with Mrs. Cameron for a little while, sound good?" Sydney asked, collecting her belongings and helping Jed gather his as well. Jed just shrugged again.

After leaving Jed with Kim, she couldn't shake the feeling of disgust. There had to be a reason she was late, she couldn't have forgotten wonderful little Jed, Sydney couldn't even comprehend the other possibilities. She wasn't naïve but she also knew that a mother didn't just _forget_ …or did they?

Thursday afternoon brought her first shift at the diner, which was actually fun and allowed her to have adult conversations. As much as she loved teaching, talking to people older than 7 was a luxury she didn't realized she had missed. She learned quickly that the diner's patrons were all creatures of habit. Madge knew everyone's order before they even did, even if they tried to change it up.

"Joe, it's the second Thursday of the month, you know you're gonna 'change it up' by ordering fries instead of a baked potato on the side." Madge had used air quotes with her exchange, making Sydney giggle. As they walked away from the table, "You'll catch on pretty quick. We have the same people ordering pretty much the same thing every time. But it's fun."

Sydney loved it, she was able to make about $40 in tips just for the few hours she was there and it felt nice to get to know Forks' residents, who were so incredibly curious about her. She fielded a plethora of questions, mostly about her past, to which she answered truthfully with certain obvious omissions. They didn't need to know everything.

The rest of the week passed with a beautiful energy, she felt invigorated by teaching these students and they in turn, were learning and absorbing more than she would have thought possible. On Friday, as she packed up to leave for the weekend and get ready for her shift at the diner, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

Walking to her car, she realized why when she saw Jacob Black leaning against his truck, parked alongside her grey SUV with something in his hands, Kyra bouncing excitedly next to him. Sydney smiled and shouldered her bag higher. "Well, hello again. What's this about?"

Kyra looked like she was about to internally combust and Jacob just laughed at her, "We thought since you gave everyone their own plants, you should…."

"WE GOT YOU A AGRAVE PLANT LIKE YOU USED TO HAVE." Kyra exclaimed, unable to contain herself any longer. Jacob just shook his head and rolled his eyes, "There was supposed to be a whole speech about thanking you for all you're doing but, in so many words, yeah, we got you an _agave_ plant, like you used to have." Jacob said, enunciating the word and looking pointedly at Kyra. Sydney was shocked and looked at the plant in his hands.

It was a tiny wax agave plant, almost exactly like the one she had left behind. She was so touched she was speechless. "This is…you didn't….wow, thank you so much." She said and took the plant from Jacob's enormous hands.

"Do you like it?!" Kyra asked and Sydney laughed and looked at the little girl's excited expression. "I _love_ it. Thank you, Kyra."

Kyra smiled openly, looking up at her dad and grabbing his hand, who looked at Sydney and studied her expression. She was floored that he had even remembered their conversation from earlier in the week.

"So, we'll see you tomorrow?" He asked looking, in Sydney's opinion, somewhat hopeful. Sydney smiled a smiled that felt like it took up her entire face and responded, "Oh, most definitely."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Songs! "Follow The Sun" by Xavier Rudd, "Lord Almighty" by Dirtwire, "Glory Box" by The Avener, and "No Good" by Kaleo. Enjoy!

* * *

"Kyyyyyraaaaa!" Jacob shouted from the kitchen, cooking an obnoxious amount of bacon on the stove, "It's time to wake up, we gotta get you to school!"

"Morning, Daddy!" She called a few minutes later, walking into the kitchen while running a brush through her black hair. "Am I going to Aunt Emily's after school?"

Jacob shook his head, "I"ll pick you up and you can come to the garage with me for a bit, if that's okay. You can tell me about school and we can work on your homework and I may even let you help me change some cars' oil." He waved the spatula around Kyra's face in a circle while he talked, teasing her. She scrunched up her nose and giggled.

"I can do a oil change all by myself!" She exclaimed, puffing her chest out, proud. Jacob laughed and nodded, "I know you can, baby. But you aren't getting paid for it, so let's let Daddy do all the work, yeah?" Kyra just shrugged and popped a piece of bacon into her mouth from Jacob's plate.

As they drove the short distance to school, Kyra was overly excited about something, but Jacob was honestly only half paying attention. She was excited about everything, always. Jacob's sunny disposition had just been passed onto his daughter and expounded ten-fold.

Kim passed them in the hallway, on her way to the front office and said, "Hey guys! I invited Kyra's new teacher to the cookout this weekend, so we'll have a fresh face. Just a heads up. Have a good day you two!" She winked at Jacob then, he knew she had been trying to hook him up with people for years, but she had never invited someone to a pack cookout before, not that Jacob minded, he wanted to get to know Sydney Delahunt better.

Kyra was rambling about butterflies when she got to her classroom and stopped abruptly. "Ms. Delahunt! It looks like a fairy castle in here!" She exclaimed. Jacob rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorway, but as he looked inside he taken aback by what he saw. It was a complete transformation from the day before, soft light getting thrown in every direction, with colors playing against the walls in the form of art projects, and Sydney Delahunt standing in the middle of the room, looking as beautiful as ever with her soft curls playing around her face like a halo and her dark green sweater hugging her curves in all the right places. It took Jacob a second to realize it but she was staring at him, he felt himself smirk.

"It looks great in here, I'm impressed." He managed to get out. "Kim mentioned you'll be joining us for the weekend, hope you're ready to wrestle Seth for food." Seth let out his best dramatic sigh and managed to knock into Jacob's shoulder on his way out the door. Drama queen.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. You'll be there as well? She asked then, tucking a stray curl behind her ear and it took everything in Jacob's power not to run his fingers through the beautiful curl that was now confined. Her dark green eyes seem to pull him in, seem to call to him.

"Mista Black! I need to get to my classroom!" He felt a small tug at the back of his knees and turned to see eight small children standing behind him impatiently. He laughed and ducked his head into the doorway, giving way to the small herd of 3rd graders. The kids were stoked when they saw what she had done to their classroom, Jacob hadn't seen them that excited in months.

"It's times like this I remember why I got into teaching in the first place….I just love them" Sydney said then, and Jacob looked to her. She was smiling with love in her eyes and her hands clasped together. This woman had to be the most selfless person he had ever met. "Jed! Don't touch the ends of those, they have sharp edges and they can cut your finger if you're not careful!" She exclaimed then, looking at the small boy who had one finger raised, eyes wide, his proverbial hand caught in the cookie jar. Jacob snorted through his nose.

"I'd be really impressed if any of those plants last past 3pm" Jacob said out of the side of his mouth. Sydney turned to him with a burning glare and it was the hottest thing Jacob had ever seen. She was a spitfire and he reveled in it.

"Oh, ye of little faith, you'd be surprised. I still had a plant my teacher gave me in 1st grade in my college dorm and then it came with me to my apartment. It was this adorable little wax agave and it looked like a pink lotus flower. I had to leave it behind with this move, but just like I did, they'll take care of them." Sydney had trailed off, getting lost in her own thoughts and memories, Jacob assumed and she looked away vacantly. Whatever had caused her to move her was still pretty fresh Jacob thought to himself. But he wanted to make her feel better, anything to put that smile back on her face.

"I know Kyra won't be able to leave that thing alone, she'll probably drown it trying to love it too much." He joked, Sydney just shrugged and continued looking out at the class. The shrill and obnoxious bell rang then, causing Jacob to freeze. He hated that stupid fucking bell, so did his wolf.

"I'll see you after school?" She asked suddenly, taking Jacob by surprise, to which he responded, "Definitely. And Sydney?" He needed to see that smile again. "Thanks again for all of this. It means a lot to everyone, it's nice to know my daughter is in good hands." He gestured around the room and caught Sydney looking at his left hand, searching for something. That smile came back onto her lips slowly and she waved at him.

He watched her for a moment and she walked to the front of the class, hands clasped behind her back as she explained the plants to the small kids. Jacob stole a glance at Kyra who was transfixed by her teacher. Me too, kid, me too. He thought.

Jacob felt himself settle into the shift, the fur freeing itself from the confines of skin and he stretched his limbs and shook his massive head. He took a deep breath and looked around the forest surrounding him. A wolf came up to him with his head bowed slightly in subconscious submission.

" _Nothing out of the ordinary, just some hikers who got lost. I'm going to the garage to work on Sue's car, we told her it would be done today. See you in a few hours?"_ Jacob heard Embry's thoughts pierce through his mind. Jacob nodded his head and turned so Embry could shift back in relative privacy, and took off through the trees, the well-worn patrol path underneath him.

He tried to make sure each wolf only had to do a few hours of patrol a day for two reasons. One, there hadn't been a leech anywhere near their lands in years, not even a nomad. That didn't mean Jacob was going to get rid of patrols entirely, it just meant that they cut back drastically. Two, they were all tired. So fucking tired. They all had lives, children, jobs, loved ones, and patrol was exhausting, bordering on debilitating. You were running hundreds of miles in a few hours and that did a number on your body, even if your wolf could handle it.

But Jacob, as Alpha, liked to be around when others were patrolling to offer support when he could. Sometimes that meant just talking to a wolf through the pack mind while they ran to distract them or running their shift for them, letting them sleep for a few hours. He tried to be as understanding as he could, and life was hectic. Especially when there were 12 people to keep track of, plus the imprints, plus the children. It was mentally overwhelming.

Jacob had taken to creating a schedule that stayed the same every week that he had posted in his house, where pack members could write if they needed to switch, for whatever reason, and others could cover for them or, as it often happened, Jacob would cover for them. He didn't mind. He knew when he needed his shift covered, his packmates had his back, as he had theirs.

But right now, he was alone, his scheduled shift was right after he dropped Kyra off at school, and usually lasted until 2pm, and it felt so good just to _run._ He felt his wolf preen at the ability to run free, to go as hard as he wanted. He ran the perimeter of La Push and started heading towards Olympic National Park when he felt Quil phase in.

" _You're late."_ Jacob thought flatly.

" _Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't have an excuse, I just slept late. First time I've done that in years."_ Quil thought back. Jacob was confused, the wolves normally didn't sleep past 5am, and it was now 9am.

" _I don't know what it's about, man. I think it's 'cause Claire is starting to sleep later and later and so the imprint is moving my schedule back, I don't know for sure though."_

" _Maybe, how's she doing this week? Any better?"_ Jacob asked. Claire hadn't been feeling well last week, and it sent Quil into a near panic.

" _She's better physically, yeah, but the sass is something I wasn't prepared for. I swear, these next few years are going to actually kill me. Give me a coven of vampires, no problem but a teenaged Claire? Fuck."_ Jacob could feel himself laughing as Quil thought about Claire an hour before, hands on her hips, huffing, and a face that screamed annoyance after finding out the muffins were gone for breakfast.

Quil was still imprinted on Claire who was 12 now, about to be 13, and he felt like her protective older brother. He hadn't aged since he phased, probably because Claire still hadn't caught up to him. What worried Quil the most though, was Claire was starting to notice boys and he didn't know if he would be able to handle any male coming near her.

" _You get west side of the park and I'll hit Forks?"_ Quil asked, and Jacob thought his acknowledgement. They both ran their loops in relative quiet and Jacob could feel his thoughts straying to Kyra's new teacher, Sydney.

He was glad someone had taken the place of the last teacher they had, who was underqualified and definitely just there for the paycheck. Sydney brought something…else. She cared. Truly cared. It was like kindness was seeping from her pores. After he saw her that first day, he couldn't get her out of his head but it wasn't the pure, unbridled possessiveness that was an imprint. He just felt…drawn to her. He couldn't describe it. And after talking to her this morning, he wanted nothing more than to get to know her.

" _I think you like her. A normal ol' school yard crush. None of us have had one in so long we forgot what it feels like"_ Quil interjected his thoughts into Jacob's monologue.

" _I don't know. It isn't as strong as the imprint pull, but there's still something there. I can't describe it so I'll just show you."_ Jacob let his thoughts drift in Quil's direction, he may be Alpha but Quil was still his best friend and he would always go to him with girl problems, no matter how old they were.

" _Huh."_ Was all he said. Jacob rolled his lupine eyes.

" _Super helpful, dude."_

" _Maybe you're imprinted but it's not as powerful because you're Alpha? Like, your imprint shouldn't get in the way of the pack? I don't know. Or maybe I was right earlier, you have a hard core crush on her. She is hot though. Good for you, I think you should go for it."_ Quil's thoughts churned out.

" _Sure sure. I'll talk to my dad, see if he knows anything."_ Was all Jacob managed while fear took hold of him. What if he had imprinted? Shit, he couldn't deal with that. There was too much going on. He had Kyra to think about, the pack, his garage, he couldn't take on trying to bond with someone who he was fated to for all of eternity. He didn't know anything about her, sure, she seemed nice, but what if she wasn't, what if she couldn't handle what he was? What if she rejected him?

" _Woah, dude, calm the fuck down. Just an idea. Right now she's just Kyra's hot new teacher."_ Quil's thoughts then jumped to the Van Halen song, Hot For Teacher and he started singing along off key in his mind. Jacob took a breath, and put his snout to the ground, smelling the dirt beneath him, grounding himself. Quil always had a way of lightening the situation.

And anyways, Quil was right, he'd figure it out later. He laughed as Quil continued his Van Halen karaoke throughout the patrol. " _And on that note,_ _I'm gonna head to the garage, make sure to run La Push one more time before Michael jumps on, see ya later man."_ Jake cut in to the sung guitar solo that was currently occupying Quil's mind. He felt Quil's acknowledgement and Jacob jogged closer to the tree line near the garage.

Jacob grabbed a pair of shorts from the weatherproof crate behind one of the larger trees. The pack kept about 30 pairs of shorts out there along with other random items like burner cell phones (anger issues still plagued them and cell phones were easy to smash), shirts (now that they weren't teenagers anymore, running on hormones and egos, they had become aware that running around shirtless wasn't exactly acceptable), Gatorade (running hundreds of miles was exhausting and dehydrating like you wouldn't believe), and a stash of lighters (because what good was ripping apart a leech if you couldn't burn the pieces?)

He tugged on his shirt with one hand and walked towards the garage, finishing off a Gatorade in one gulp with his other hand. Looking around the lot next to the building, he saw there was a lot to be done this week, which was always good. More cars meant more business which meant more money. He could hear Embry tuning Sue's junker and Brady was working on a car he assumed was from town, he opened the door and felt their automatic impulse to gaze on their Alpha. That was one of the weirder things he still hadn't quite gotten used to, every time he walked into a room with another wolf, the wolf had to look at him until he acknowledged their presence, which normally wasn't a big deal until pack gatherings when he looked like his head was bobbing trying to placate all of the stares. He nodded to both of them and headed towards the office where Ayana, another pack member who handled the business side of the garage, was on the phone and typing up a quote.

"I understand that ma'm, but I'm not trying to swindle you. The part alone is $850 and it takes about 4-6 hours to install." She glanced up at Jake, who nodded imperceptibly and then furrowed his brows, gesturing to the phone, wondering who it was.

Ayana was the second female to phase after Leah, but unlike Leah, was welcomed gladly into the pack. She had grown up with a lot of the guys and she was one of Brady's best friends.

Ayana rolled her eyes and mouthed "Mrs. Newton" before returning to her phone call and adding, "Of course you can call around…that's no problem. We'll be here if you change your mind. Yeah, alright, have a great day." Ayana hung up the phone and looked to Jacob, "That woman, I swear. Wants a new head gasket installed for $500. Please."

Jake looked around the desk, seeing which car to work on first. "She'll call back, Tony's will charge her at least $1900. Call around the scrap yards, there's always decent ones, see if we can't get it closer to her price range but tell her to bring her cheesecake for labor cost, I'll do it but it'll be a few days at least."

"Got it, chief. Oh, here's a list of messages you've already gotten this morning." Ayana handed him a list of numbers and names that instantly gave him a headache. "Say, why don't I call all the junk yards back and you can just take care of the personal ones?" She said, to which Jacob was immensely grateful. It was almost like she could read minds sometimes. Jacob gave her a thankful look and headed out to the garage.

Fixing cars, to Jacob, just made sense. Everything had a home, everything had a purpose, everything did its part to make the whole thing run. With his exceptional hearing, he was able to stand above the car, lean in, and almost immediately be able to tell what was wrong with it. It was his way of escaping the constant stress of his life. He could just dive into a car, fix it, and send it on it's way, leaving him feeling a little bit more accomplished. It was both his outlet and his therapy and he was damn glad it paid the bills.

Getting lost in the machines, he didn't even realize it was noon until Ayana shouted through the small window, "Mrs. Newton promised two cheesecakes and also I got us all pizza." Jacob wiped his hands on the rag draped on the car and stretched his back. His wolf was itching to run again and it had only been a few hours, Jacob wondered whether he would ever get a reprieve.

He rolled an entire pizza into a burrito and ate it quickly, not bothering to even breathe before doing the same with another whole pizza. "You could at least try to taste it" Embry joked, doing the same but taking bites from his burrito instead of inhaling it.

Jacob just shrugged and looked at the wall clock, "I'm gonna go check patrols, I'll be back in a bit." He said to the room, who all were still staring at him. Shit. He nodded towards each of them then walked out of the room, peeling his shirt off and hanging it alongside the dirty rag strewn across the car.

He had try to test what would happen if he didn't acknowledge someone and poor Collin had followed him around for 2 hours like a lost little puppy before Jacob finally caved. From what he could tell, they didn't even realize they were doing it. He didn't understand it, but there wasn't much about the whole wolf situation that made much sense anyways.

He took off his shorts, putting them back in the crate and jumped into the shift. There was just one mind he could feel, Michael.

" _Hey. Anything going on?"_ Jake asked, running towards the beach, his wolf needed to run, and run he would.

" _Honestly, no. I even thought about doing the park again but Quil said you did it earlier. There's hardly any hikers out either with the weather being so shitty."_ Michael said. Michael was the newest shifter but even he had shifted 4 years prior. He had never encountered a vampire but he was fast as hell and Jacob had confidence in him to get the job done if one ever did come around. Big emphasis on the _if._

" _Well, I have a half hour to kill, want to race to the park? I need to run."_ Jacob asked and he could feel Michael's excitement. _"Look around you so I know where you're at and I'll catch up to ya."_

Seeing through Michael's vision, he could spot the Bridgeman's trail to his right and that weird tree with the knob that looked like a face up ahead. " _I'll give you a 3 second head start. On my mark…"_ Jacob said, running towards the wolf's figure up ahead before giving a small yelp. The wolf took off but Jacob caught up quickly and they were racing side by side, each giving it their all, thankful to have something to put all that pent-up energy towards.

As they came closer to the park's edge, Jacob pushed himself harder. Sure, he was a nice guy but an Alpha wolf doesn't lose to anyone. His wolf rose to the challenge and he could feel his paws digging in deeper with each step, using the ground to propel himself forward, faster and faster, crossing the invisible line first.

" _Damn!"_ Michael shouted in his mind. " _That was close, I thought I might actually have a chance that time."_ He laughed. Jacob's wolf just nudged up against Michael's in show of solidarity.

" _Alright, I'm gonna head back to the garage, howl if you need anything."_ Jacob thought, trotting in the direction of the rez. As he ran back, he could see Michael replaying the race in his head, looking for ways to improve. " _Hey Michael, try to focus on the patrolling part of the patrol shift."_ Jacob taunted. Michael immediately refocused and put his snout to the ground, sniffing for any new scents.

The rest of the week passed in pretty much the same way, until Thursday night when Kyra asked for a favor. "I wanna do somethin' nice for Ms. Delahunt 'cause she's so nice to us."

Jacob looked up from his dinner plate to his daughter, who was staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. He felt proud in that moment, thinking maybe he didn't raise her all that wrong. "What were you thinking?" He asked, shoving another forkful of chicken into his mouth.

"What abouttttt….a kitty?!" Kyra asked, eyes glinting with excitement. Jacob laughed and shook his head.

"Maybe something not so extreme, little one. A kitty requires a lot of work and we don't know if she wants to take care of one. Or if she's allergic." He added, wondering if she was in fact, allergic.

"Umm, what about a fish?" Kyra hedged.

"That's definitely less extreme but let's get away from the animals. What else could we get her?" Jacob asked when an idea presented itself from a conversation earlier in the week. "What if we got her a little plant like she got everyone else?" He asked his daughter, leaning forward.

Kyra gasped and shouted, "Yes! We can get her a little flower plant and I'll decorate it and then we can surprise her and then she'll be so happy just like us!"

"Perfect, I'll stop by the garden store in Forks while you're at school tomorrow and pick one up for her, and you can make her a nice card and we can give it to her after school, sound good?" Jacob was racking his brain trying to remember what that plant was called. War Agant? Wax Something? He remembered she said something about it looking like a pink flower, so he'd figure it out.

The next morning, Jacob had to remind Kyra 4 times on the way to school that the point of a surprise was to not tell the person about the surprise. "I know Daddy I'm just so EXCITED." She said again, bouncing in her seat. He would be genuinely surprised if his daughter was able to hold it together until the end of the day.

"You made the card, yeah?" Jacob asked, pulling into the school. Kyra nodded and pulled it out of her backpack, handing it to Jacob. His heart stuttered through its next beat when he saw what she had drawn.

It was like the wolf drawing she had done a few days ago but there was Sydney on the right, Kyra in the middle and Jacob on the left, all holding each other's hands so they were all connected and they were standing in front of the school with the trees bordering the outer edges of the picture. She had the most interesting way of drawing, using only straight lines but damn, this picture was incredible and he wasn't just saying that because he had to.

"Baby, this is incredible. It's going to make her very happy." Jacob finally managed to say. "I'll see you after school, okay? Remember…"

"A surprise is only a surprise if you don't tell them it's a surprise. I know!" She squeaked, turning towards the school. Jacob laughed and put the truck in reverse, his eyes getting drawn to the picture again and again as he drove. It hit him as he pulled into the store that they looked like a little family, and he didn't know whether the guilt of not being able to offer Kyra a family was outweighing his hope that it may happen someday.

He asked the woman at the cash register for help and managed to find a small plant that looked like a pink flower. "Wax Agaves are incredible little plants, so beautiful and vibrant." She said. Wax Agave…that's what it was.

As Jacob drove to the school, he heard a short yip from the woods, a wolf asking for help. Jacob pulled off to the side of the road as quickly as he could and peeled off his clothes.

" _Yeah?"_ Jacob thought quickly, his wolf ready to destroy whatever was happening.

" _Oh shit, sorry Jake. We were wrestling and he got me in a tight spot. How did you even hear that- my bad."_ Collin said, his thoughts frantic and regretful. Jacob sighed and let his annoyance filter through to both of the wolves.

" _You're covering one of my shifts next week. Both of you."_ He said, trying to tame the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins. He heard disgruntled but submissive grunts from both of them. Jacob knew he would still run those shifts with them, but it was more the principle. " _I'll see you tomorrow at Sam's."_ He said finally, and phased back, grabbing his clothes.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he found Sydney's car and parked alongside it, waiting for his little Kyra to come out. She did a few minutes later and her smile was so bright, it made Jacob's heart clench. He didn't know if he could love anything else in existence as much as he loved that little girl. He picked her up easily and threw her lightly into the air, her giggles swirling in the air around them.

"How was your day at school?" He asked, placing her back down on the ground as she shoved her hair out of her face. She beamed and just started rattling on about her day at a break neck speed. Jacob was genuinely impressed that she was able to talk as fast as she was.

Jacob heard the front door to the school open and close and he looked up to see Sydney walking towards them, her head down. He watched as her hair bounced slightly as she walked and as her brow furrowed in confusion before looking up to catch the sight of him and Kyra.

"Well hello again. What's this about?" She asked them. Jacob could feel Kyra's buzzing energy next to him and as he looked down, he laughed, she looked like she was about to explode. He grabbed the little plant from the back of the truck where he had placed it a few minutes prior and held it in his hands. "We thought since you gave everyone else their own plants, you should…" Jacob started but was cut off by his daughter shrieking.

"WE GOT YOU A AGRAVE PLANT LIKE YOU USED TO HAVE." Kyra practically screamed at the poor woman. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well, there was supposed to be a whole speech about thanking you for all you're doing, but, in so many words, we got you an agave plant, like you used to have." Jacob said, mostly to Kyra. Jacob looked up to Sydney's face which was a mask of pure shock.

"This is…you didn't…wow, thank you so much." She said then, taking the plant from Jacob's hands.

"Do you like it?!" Kyra yelled again to which Sydney just laughed. "I _love_ it. Thank you, Kyra." Kyra took the small pot from Jacob's hand but he was so focused on Sydney. She finally glanced up at him with a smile that looked beautiful on her.

"So, we'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, trying to contain his hopefulness. Sydney replied with, "Oh, most definitely."

"Daddy! My card!" Kyra said, breaking Jacob's stare. Oh yeah, shit. He reached into the truck and pulled out the little card that Kyra had spent so much time on and handed it to Kyra. She nodded purposefully at him and then turned to Sydney, "This is from me." She said proudly and handed it to Sydney who looked at the picture in a way that perfectly explained how Jacob had felt earlier.

"Wow…you guys…this is too much. You didn't have to do any of this, but thank you." She said, not taking her eyes from the picture. Jacob nudged his daughter who threw her arms around Sydney's knees which surprised her.

"We'll let you get home and we'll see you tomorrow. You have the address?" Jacob asked, picking up his daughter and placing her in the truck. Sydney nodded. "We usually get there around 11 so feel free to come anytime around then." He added.

"Sounds good, and Jacob? Thank you. Seriously." Sydney said, looking him right in the eyes and it made him smile.

"Until tomorrow, then." He said lamely, walking around the truck to the driver's side and started the engine. He waited until she climbed into her SUV before he put the truck in reverse to get out of the parking lot. "I think she liked it, little one." Jacob said to his daughter who was kicking her feet in time to the song on the radio, nodding her agreement.

After such a great afternoon, the rest of the night brought more than Jacob had bargained for.

" _I know it's been a while but I haven't forgotten that stink."_ Sam said to Jacob. " _It's near the East end of the park but it's in a 'ways."_ Jacob let out two howls, alerting the pack that they needed more reinforcements.

" _I'm gonna put two more on the trail and we'll keep up this formation until we figure out who it is and why they're so close."_ Jacob thought as Embry and Paul phased in.

" _Seriously?! It's been years, why now?"_ Paul snarled. " _I'm gonna take the easternmost flank if you'll get the west, Embry."_

" _If you see it, kill it, no questions asked, we have kids to think about now."_ Jacob commanded through the pack mind and he could feel the protectiveness surging through all of them. They were formed to protect, to keep safe. " _Seth, I need you to get Kyra to Emily's, is Em awake?"_

" _Yeah, Kenai's still awake so Emily is too."_ Seth responded. He watched through Seth's eyes as he ran to Jacob's home and got Kyra from her bedroom. "Hey little one, we're gonna go to Aunt Emily's house for a sleepover, okay?" Kyra just nodded and held her arms out for Seth to pick her up. He hitched her onto his side and ran out the front door, pausing only to place her safely on the porch before phasing back into his wolf. Kyra jumped onto his back and he waited until she had secured herself before taking off.

" _Anything?"_ Jacob asked while he ran. He could feel 8 wolves phased in now plus himself. It took them a long time to figure out, but they were able to control their thoughts much more and instead of having 12 rambling minds going at once, it was relatively quiet. They were able to separate their own, private thoughts and the thoughts they needed to share with the pack which made life so much easier for everyone involved. Only Jacob was able to feel the emotions of the rest of the pack, no one else seemed to be able to, and it came in handy more times than he would care to admit.

" _We got the trail, following it now, it looks like they're running parallel to us coming from the south."_ Embry reported. Seth had made it to Emily's and Jacob watched as Kyra closed the front door behind her.

" _It's two of them."_ Paul added. Jacob could feel the anticipation and excitement from the newer wolves, it was their first real hunt. Seth had stayed behind to keep an eye on La Push but the rest of the wolves were in formation now, Jacob could smell the putrid stench as if he were right next to the damn things.

" _I want this done as quickly as possible."_ Jacob was not in the mood to play with his food tonight. He could see them now, one male and one female. The male was tall and blonde and the female was small and had long brown hair…like Bella's. Jacob quickly dismissed the thought and pushed forward. They were all within striking range now, with Paul and Embry on the right, the younger wolves led by Jacob behind the pair, and Sam and Quil on the left. " _NOW."_ He commanded and they all attacked.

To give them credit, the leeches thought ahead and had obviously been planning to jump to escape them but they jumped off just a tad bit too late, the wolves were already in motion. Ayana struck the female first, ripping her arm from her body with a grating shriek and a deafening sound of metal being torn. Jake had the male's shoulder in his mouth when he jerked hard and tore it from the rest of his body. Paul, never one to miss out on a fight, ripped the males head from his shoulders quickly and gruesomely with, what looked like a feral smile on his wolf's lips. The pack made quick work of the pair.

" _Brady, phase and start collecting and burning."_ Jacob bellowed. He immediately felt Brady leave the pack mind and he saw his naked form grab a lighter from the leather pouch on the back of his leg. He started piling pieces together and lit the flame quickly, much to Jacob's approval.

Jacob did a quick mental check on everyone, seeing how everyone was handling it. Ayana was flourishing, her wolf loving the thrill of the kill. Michael was proud but disappointed he hadn't really gotten a got bite out of either of them. Collin was disgusted with the smell but good. His original pack members…well, they were a shit storm.

Everyone was worried about their imprints, worried about their kids, worried about La Push, about what it meant that they had come back after so long. Listening to each of them was giving Jacob a headache, their incessant worry bleeding into his subconscious.

" _Everyone that's here, phase and let's burn these mother fuckers."_ He commanded, wanting just a half second to compose his thoughts before he had to quell everyone's fears. He could hear the claps on the backs, the high fives and the cheering but had closed his eyes, composing the speech he was about to give. He urged his human shape to the forefront and phased back, standing with his pack as they picked up pieces and threw them into the growing purple plume.

"Everyone good?" He asked and everyone nodded. "I know you're worried about what this means for the tribe but we'll just keep up patrols like we have been and double up if we feel like we need it but we know we can handle it."

"Pfft, especially with 12 of us. Half of us will have to sit out on the fun because we'll start biting each other at this rate." Paul added cockily, throwing a marble-looking hand into the fire. Jacob nodded once but kept his gaze fixed on the fire.

"You all did great. Especially Ayana, Michael, Collin and Brady, congrats on your first kill." He said, turning towards the four. They all looked up at Jacob and he nodded once to each of them, looking them in the eye.

"Well, let's fucking celebrate." Embry shouted and everyone laughed, the rigidness of the situation falling away.

"Isn't that what tomorrow's for, moron?" Quil joked, shoving Embry. Jacob felt like they were 16 again, chasing bloodsuckers and acting like idiots, it felt…good.

"I'll go back to La Push and catch Seth up. No celebrating without me, though." Ayana said, throwing a small piece of cloth into the dying fire then turning back towards home.

"Ready, chief?" Sam asked, clapping Jacob on the back as the embers burned off quickly before them. Jacob turned back towards the rez and jumped into the shift, wanting nothing more than to run. He was proud of his pack. They had taken down two leeches and for 4 of them, it was their first kill. Not bad.

"Kyra's passed out in the guest room, she's welcome to stay here until tomorrow if you want to go home and have the house to yourself for a night." Emily said as he walked into their kitchen. It was a nice offer but he needed to be near his daughter right now, especially after what had just gone down.

"I'll just take her home. She probably won't even notice, she sleeps so damn hard." Jacob laughed, lifting Kyra into his arms and added, "I'll see you in the morning, Em, thanks for keeping an eye on her." He walked back home on two legs, wanting to get some fresh air and to feel the crisp night on his skin.

Jacob slept well that night, his wolf felt settled for the first time in years and he was genuinely surprised when he woke up to Kyra jumping on his bed laughing. "Good morning daddy!" She said and Jacob rolled over and grabbed her by the sides, tickling her.

She was shrieking with laughter when he heard his cell ring. He put her on the ground and told her to get cereal started, answering his phone.

"Hey man, Kyra's teacher is here and is obviously looking for you. Where are you?" Quil asked over the phone.

"Shit, I slept in. We'll be over soon." Jacob said. What time was it? The sun was up, so past 7:30. I couldn't be that late though… He clicked the call off and looked at the clock. 10:45am. He jumped out of bed. "Little one! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He yelled to the other room, pulling his hair into a braid and throwing a shirt over his head.

"Uncle Seth said to let you sleep until the clock said one zero zero zero. But then my tv show came on and I forgot." She said, completely invested in her cereal. They finished their late breakfast quickly and drove over to Sam and Emily's. Most of the pack was already there, and he could feel all of the subconscious glances his way. He acknowledged everyone he could while trying to look for Sydney.

He found her in the kitchen with Kim and Emily, laughing as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face with the back of her hand, getting a line of flour on her cheek.

"They've already put you to work?" He asked, peering over their shoulders to see what they were making.

"Hey, she offered, I will never turn down free help." Emily said, waving a rolling pin in Jake's face. Sydney merely shrugged and laughed. "I don't mind and it's a lot of fun."

Jacob was standing in front of Sydney now, with Kim and Emily behind her. She wasn't as short as Emily and Kim, which Jacob appreciated, they always seemed so tiny. Sydney was probably 5'7" compared to Jacob's 6'7" which was much more manageable than girls he used to see.

He reached down and gently wiped the flour from her cheek, smiling softly. "You had saved a little somethin' for later." He joked and she blushed, the red coloring her cheeks and chest and it took everything in his power to not stare.

"Not the best way to make first impressions, I suppose?" She teased, looking up at him. Jacob couldn't help himself and drew her in for a hug to which she stiffened in surprise.

"Welcome to the group." He said into the top of her head. She relaxed and wrapped her arms around his torso, mumbling a thank you into his chest.

"Okay, well if you're done stealing all of her attention, we have pies to make, so shoo." Kim said with her fists resting on her hips.

"Sure sure." He said with a smile plastered on his face.

 **A/N: This will be the last Jacob's POV for a while, I want to focus on Sydney's story and how she navigates through the rest of the story! Hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Also, thank you so much for the reviews!**


	5. The Pack Family Tree

The next chapters will reference a lot of OC's so I created a family tree of sorts to help navigate through. I'll talk about the characters in more depth as I go on but I just wanted to give you a rough outline! Thanks again for reading.

Pack

Jacob (Alpha, 25) - XX  
Children: Kyra (7)

Sam (Beta, 28) - Emily (Imprint, 26)  
Children: Kenai (6), Anna (3), Kaya (6 months)

Paul (Beta, 28) - Rachel (Imprint, 27)  
Children: Will (6), Tobey (4), One on way

Jared (27) - Kim (Imprint, 25)  
Children: Brayden (5)

Embry (25) - Shea (23)  
Children: Abbie (9 months)

Quil (25) - XX Claire (Imprint, 12)  
Children: None

Seth (23) - XX  
Children: None

Leah (28) - Caleb (28)  
Children: None

Collin (19) - XX  
Children: None

Brady (19) - XX  
Children: None

Ayana (19) - XX  
Children: None

Michael (18) - XX  
Children: None


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Makes my heart happy.

Songs for this chapter: "Nothing in My Way" by Keane, "Ends of the Earth" by Lord Huron, "Perfect Places" by First Aid Kit, and "River" by Leon Bridges.

* * *

Jacob was standing close to Sydney, his broad chest at her eye level. He reached towards her, wiping flour from her cheek with a soft smile planted on his lips. Sydney could feel the blush creeping from her face all the way down her chest, the burning red giving away her feelings.

"Not the best way to make first impressions, I suppose?" Sydney asked mischievously, looking up at Jacob. He snorted quickly then wrapped her in a hug which took her entirely by surprise but after a brief second, Sydney felt herself relax in his warm, and frankly, gigantic arms.

"Welcome to the group" He mumbled into her hair, the vibrations racking her brain. She wrapped her arms around him, and returned a mumbled thank you.

"Well! If you're done stealing all of her attention, we have pies to make, so shoo" Sydney heard Kim say sassily and when she broke away from Jacob, she could see Kim's fists planted firmly on her hips, a playful scowl teasing her face.

"Oh, don't be jealous Kimmy, you're still my favorite." Sydney teased back, sticking her tongue out and turning towards the two women who were watching Sydney and Jacob with a knowing expression.

When Sydney had driven to the house this morning, she had no idea of what to expect from the day. Kim had told her to show up around 10 and to be prepared for cooking but hadn't said much of anything else. When Sydney had pulled in, there were only a few people here and everyone seemed to have a purpose prepping for the feast they were about to have. Emily and Sam's house sat at the far edge of the reservation, near the forest and it was truly a home.

When Sydney had first arrived, she had been a little overwhelmed and intimidated. There were so many people, and this being such a small town, everyone had probably known each other since they could walk. But, Kim and Seth had swooped in and thrown introductions at her quickly, and she had promptly forgotten most of them, before Kim had dragged her to the kitchen to start prepping the pies they were making.

Sydney felt so welcomed by this group, so accepted and they all embraced her with open arms. Which, she had to admit, she didn't mind the embracing. Who wouldn't? They were all well over 6 feet tall, muscled and beautiful examples of human perfection. What a gene pool.

"Once the pies are done, what else do we have to make?" Sydney asked.

"Well, the chicken is marinating and then that will go out on the grill, we have potatoes baking now in the oven, I'll have Rachel shuck the corn once she gets here, we need to get started on the cookies, we'll need to start the coleslaw and the veggies soon, then we'll make the lemonade." Emily replied, counting on her fingers. Sydney was dumbfounded by how much food they were making, each family had brought well over 3 dishes each and there was still so much more to make.

"You have no idea how much these guys eat, it's truly a wonder that we still have a roof over our head with how much they inhale." Kim said, as if she read Sydney's mind. "They all just have really taxing jobs physically, so their metabolisms are crazy high." She explained. Sydney just nodded, continuing to lattice the apple pie she was working on.

"I have arrived and I come bearing rolls and a pregnant belly!" Exclaimed a woman entering the kitchen. Sydney turned to see a woman who was very beautiful and very pregnant. She had long back hair like most of the other women, but light brown eyes that danced in the small amount of sun coming in from the window. Her angular face was highlighted by her high cheekbones and full lips. "Hello! You must be Sydney, I'm Rachel" She said, throwing her hand towards Sydney after dropping a large basket of rolls onto the table. Sydney smiled and extended her hand, "So nice to meet you."

"Glad to see they didn't waste any time utilizing your hands. It's a shame the men are too lazy to _help their women!"_ She shouted the last part towards the front door which was met with pitiful comebacks and disagreements. Rachel just rolled her eyes. "Men..."

"How do you know these two?" Sydney asked, gesturing to Emily and Kim as Rachel sidled up next to her and immediately started working on the other pies.

"Well, I know Emily from Sam, her husband, because he knows my brother, Jacob. And Kim and I grew up on the rez together." Rachel replied. "Hey! Don't think because my back is turned, I can't see you. Be nice to your brother!" She shouted then, causing Sydney to twitch and turn around. She saw two boys staring at them wide-eyed before running out the front door.

"Impressive." Sydney said, amused. "When I teach, half the time I think kids are up to something, they're not so I end up just yelling at them for no reason." She laughed.

"Oh that's right, you're the new teacher, I've heard good things. But honestly, with my two boys, there's a 95% chance they're getting into something they're not supposed to be in." To which Kim and Emily laughed in agreement.

The women around her were so wonderful and bubbly, Sydney couldn't help but feel it was contagious. People were coming in and out of the house, children were running around outside with their fathers, some of whom were drinking beer and some playing soccer.

"How many people are coming today?" Sydney asked. Kim just snorted and looked like she was doing math in her head, squinting up at the ceiling.

Rachel just shook her head and mumbled, "Prepare yourself…"

"Um, well, there's Jared and I and we have Brayden who is 5. Then there's Embry and Shea who have a little girl who's 9 months old named Abbie. Then Emily and Sam who have 3 little ones; Anna, Kaya, and Kenai. Paul and Rachel who have Tobey and Will and hopefully a little girl on the way. Then, let's see, Quil who takes care of Claire whose 12 going on 26, Seth, whose our perpetual bachelor, Collin, Brady, Ayana, and Michael. Oh! And Jacob and Kyra, obviously. Um, but that's it." Kim counted off her imaginary list.

There was a brief moment of silence until they all started laughing loudly. "Oh, is that all, then?" Sydney managed out between laughs. When they finally managed to get a hold of themselves, they realized they had an audience.

Paul, Sam, Jared, Jacob, and Seth were all staring at them from the front door, with amused grins on their face. Sydney couldn't help but notice how adoringly Paul, Jared and Sam stared at their wives, like they had never seen anything more beautiful. She felt her heart twist at the thought. _No one has ever looked at me like that._ She felt her smile slowly fade as she dove head first into her thoughts.

"These pies are about done, why don't you get the chicken to the guys outside Sydney?" Emily asked, handing her a pot full of raw meat. It effectively brought Sydney back to the present and she took it from Emily's hands rather ungracefully.

She walked towards the door where the men had dispersed and headed to where she assumed the grill was. When she walked into the damp air, she saw what looked like unadulterated chaos.

There was a soccer game in the grass patch going on with 5 or 6 of the younger adults that looked more like a wrestling match than anything else, there were young kids running around the game in wide circles shrieking with laughter, a few people who were holding babies and laughing at the game, and a small group off to the side consisting of Jacob, Seth, and Sam standing around the grill.

"I was told to hand off the baton" Sydney said, heaving the large pot into Seth's arms. He took it like it weighed less the spatula that was held in Jacob's hand. Sydney pushed her curls out of her face and looked around again. "This is quite the sight."

"Isn't it? We do this every week, you should make yourself a regular, paleface." Seth said, elbowing Sydney lightly in the ribs after passing the pot off to Sam who was placing the pieces of chicken on the grill.

Sydney shoved Seth back playfully. "I'd like that." She said, "But only if you're not here." Jacob laughed at that statement.

"Seth is like everyone's little brother, it's nice to see that you see him that way too." He mused. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Jacob asked quieter as Seth got called to the soccer game.

"I really am, you guys are like a big family, it reminds me of the family get togethers I used to go to when I was younger." She replied, crossing her arms against the cool breeze that had picked up.

"You close with your family?" Jacob asked. Sydney tilted her head slightly and smiled.

"Yeah, we used to go over to my grandpa's house every Sunday and watch football when I was growing up, have a potluck kind of like this, but as us grandkids grew up we all got busier and busier and now I hardly ever see them but we're all still really close, talked to them all the time on the phone when I was traveling a lot."

"Where all did you travel?" Jacob asked, looking over at Sydney. She smiled mischievously.

"You won't believe me…but I've lived in 14 states and 4 countries and I've been to all 50 states and traveled to 29 countries. My dad was in the military so I grew up moving all the time and when I graduated high school I had caught the travel bug and went everywhere I could." She said, getting the swell of happiness that bloomed within her every time she talked about travel.

Jacob looked impressed and just said, "Wow…"

People reacted one of two ways when she told them about her extensive traveling, they either asked a ton of questions, wanting to know about everything or they had no idea of what to say and just looked at her blankly. Apparently, Jacob was one of the latter.

"I mean…how did you do it?" He asked finally, turning towards her. She shrugged. "Traveling was the only thing I wanted to do, so I made it work however possible. A lot of hitchhiking and relying on the kindness of others and sleeping in the woods when I was too poor for a hostel and carrying everything I owned on my back. It was a constant adventure." She said, smiling now.

"And yet you somehow ended up here." Jacob smirked at her. "That's incredible though, I'd love to hear more of your stories sometime." She nodded then.

"What do you do?" She asked, realizing she didn't actually know. She had assumed a mechanic of some sort judging by the grease stains he came into the school with when he picked up Kyra.

"Embry, Quil and myself own a garage at the edge of town, you've probably driven right past it." He said, taking over the grill since Sam had also joined in on the increasingly intense soccer game.

"Do you enjoy it?" She asked, stepping closer to him unconsciously. She felt drawn to him. He nodded, "Oh yeah, I love working on cars."

The game had turned into somewhat of a show now, with the athletic abilities of each player getting more and more pronounced. They were all amazing, almost unnaturally so. Sydney had played all throughout high school but there was no way in hell she was going to get into that mess.

"They haven't had anyone to show off for in a while." Jacob joked, pulling the chicken from the grill. "Let's get these inside, yeah?" Sydney nodded and followed Jacob as he walked towards the house, letting out a sharp whistle as he passed the game, immediately stopping everyone where they stood. "Let's eat." He called to the group and it was almost humorous watching these grown men scurry towards the house, pushing and shoving to get there first. Sydney was glad she was far enough away that she wasn't caught in the mosh pit.

The living room furniture had been pushed to the walls and two long plastic tables had been set up with piles, actual piles, of food along both of them. Sydney realized she didn't know what she was supposed to do next so she watched, leaning against the kitchen counter as people grabbed plated and started filling in the chairs that lined the tables.

"Miss Delahunt! Will you sit next to me?!" Kyra asked as she tugged on Sydney's arm. "Of course! Let's get our plates fixed up before all the good stuff is gone."

Lunch went by in a blur. Sydney was sandwiched between Kyra and Seth and everyone was laughing and joking with each other. She could barely hear herself think over all the conversations and she felt like she was going to get whiplash from trying to keep track of them all. She felt like the smile that was plastered on her face was going to get stuck there.

As the meal died down, Sydney realized she didn't want to go home.

"Please come over whenever, I take care of all the kids that aren't over at the school and there are days I crave adult conversations" Emily laughed as Sydney pulled her raincoat on, getting ready to leave.

"I'd be more than happy, as entertaining as talking to 3rd graders is all day, I definitely get wanting to talk to people your own age." Sydney responded. "Thank you again so much for having me. It was wonderful to get to know everyone and so great to meet you." Emily hugged her, and Sydney turned to leave, waving at Seth on her way out.

Jacob was loading a sleeping Kyra into his truck as she walked out to her car and she smiled. Kyra's mouth was hanging open and she was as limp as a sack of potatoes. "Wow, she's quite the sleeper." Sydney said, somewhat jealous, she could use a nap like that.

"Oh, you have no idea. We had a terrible storm a year back and a tree broke next to our house and made the loudest noise coming down but this little one slept through it all, completely oblivious." Jacob told her, smiling down at his daughter. "I'm glad you could make it. I hope we see you at these more often, you fit right in."

"I'd really like that. It was great to meet everyone." She said and felt the tell-tale heat coloring her cheeks before she could even get out the next sentence. "And it was really great getting to know you better." What was wrong with her? She felt like she was 14 again, talking to a boy for the first time.

Jacob smiled fully at her and his eyes went to her cheeks. She blushed harder. "It was great talking to you, Sydney, and I mean it, I hope we see you around more. Maybe we could grab dinner sometime?" The last part took her by surprise and she wanted to, really wanted to.

But, she had only been here a week and she needed time to figure out her own life before she started dating again. Brice had taken up so much of her life, she needed to be single and independent for a while. But god, she wanted to.

"Um, well, uh, I'd like to, it's just…I.."Sydney stuttered. Jacob just held up his hands in surrender.

"I get it. You're still new to town, it's probably a bit much. Just know the offer stands." He said, placating her fears with a single sentence.

"Know that I'll take you up on that offer, just not quite yet." Sydney managed to spit out and before she knew it, he was wrapping her in another warm hug. She felt so small when in his arms like this, wrapped in his comfort. She felt safe. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed once.

"See ya, Syd." He said into the top of her head. She smiled into his chest, his warmth radiating into her. She didn't want to pull away, in fact, she was perfectly content to stay there for the rest of her Saturday.

Jacob pulled away and pulled her hands to his lips, leaving a small kiss on each of her hands. Sydney could feel her heart gallop through it's next couple of beats, sure that he had heard it too.

"This is normally where I would drop a cheesy line but I'm fresh out so I'll just go ahead and ask, can I have your number?" Jake said quietly, slowly dropping Sydney's hands. It took a few moments for his words to permeate the fog he had created around her with his deep baritone.

"Oh yeah…uh, I got a new phone this morning, so you'll be the first person to have it, actually." She said finally and reached into her purse, pulling out the new phone. After a half hour of deliberating this morning, she had settled on a flip phone, almost exactly like the one she used to have when she was 14. She had deleted all of her social media and had no need for a smart phone and this one had been so cheap.

He programmed his number into her phone, joking about her taste in technology the entire time before handing it back to her with a smile.

They said their goodbyes one more time and Sydney walked up to her car. As she got in, she stole one last look at Jacob in his truck. He was so damn beautiful. And so damn kind. She started her drive back to her home, getting lost in thought.

Watching him all morning, Sydney had seen him interact with all the kids like they were all his own, picking them up, laughing with them, chasing them around the yard. There was something about a man that was good with kids…

Brice never had been, had never wanted them, had belittled Sydney for teaching. She could vividly remember him saying, " _I mean, it's not like you have a real job, it's just to give you something to do during the day while I'm at work."_ She rolled her eyes at the memory, feeling stupid for even considering him a possibility for her future.

But she had been happy with Brice, or so she thought. He had made her laugh, took care of her, treated her to dinners and spa days and new clothes even when they lived together. He had surprised her at work with flowers, bought her presents when she was sad. Looking back, he had been controlling her, showing up wherever she was, just to check on her, but at the time it had been nice to have someone caring for her like that.

When they had first met, Sydney had just come back from a 3-month trip in Europe. She was broke, feeling on top of the world and looking for a place to work. She found a job serving at a local beach restaurant. He worked there as well and they had hit it off, he had portrayed himself as a dreamer, someone who wanted to travel the world and they complemented each other nicely. As Sydney had saved enough for another trip, she asked if Brice wanted to join her and he jumped on the idea. As the departure date grew closer, he came up with excuses as to why he could no longer go.

She went without him the first time and Sydney had come back with a new zest for life that Brice had latched onto, almost siphoning it from her for his own benefit. As time went on, she was ready to go on another trip and when Brice made excuses again, Sydney had intended to go, she really had, but he had already sunk his claws into her, convincing her that she should stay for a little longer, and then they could go on a trip together. A few weeks turned into a few months which turned into 3 years. 3 years it took for her to get out of the haze that she had settled into.

It had been such a long 3 years too. Sydney realized that working in the hospitality industry had its perks; like fast money when you're serving but there's some drawbacks too. There's a subculture there, and it wasn't always the best environment to be in. With easy money comes the willingness to spend quickly which usually led to drinking binges after work and a lot of drugs. Sydney wasn't into that, but she was surrounded by people who were. Brice's drug of choice was cocaine, having had a brief but desperate affair with the white powder. Sydney hadn't found out that he was even using until months later when he was high out of his mind at 6 in the morning, yelling about how worthless she was before her first day of teaching. She knew she should have left then, but isn't hindsight always clear?

She sighed deeply, sinking into her chair as she drove the wet roads. She turned on her radio, letting the music permeate the air in the car, swallowing the silence. Her thoughts drifted to projects she had been thinking about doing this weekend. There was still time left in the day to finish those damn porch railings before her diner shift, she thought, giving herself a new sense of purpose.

After such a chaotic and loud morning, she was looking forward to getting lost in her own world, fixing up that home of hers. She heard her new phone's muffled chime from her purse and smiled, knowing it could only be one person. She pulled into her driveway and threw the car in park before snatching her phone.

 _Hope you made it home safe. Jake._

She smiled stupidly as she looked at her phone. She truly felt like a teenager again and found herself dissecting how quick was too quick to reply before shaking her head and typing a response.

 _Just pulled in actually. I have some porch railings that are begging to be fixed and who am I to say no?_

After writing and rewriting the text 4 times, she finally pressed send and threw her head onto the steering wheel. She couldn't jump into another relationship, she reminded herself for the second time that day. It was too soon. She needed to get back on her own two feet, especially after a relationship that was so demeaning and toxic. She knew better.

She got to work on the porch, replacing old ones and ones that had been missing altogether with pieces she had picked up earlier in the week. She had planned on painting the porch white but it looked like it was too rainy to start painting today. It was a half hour later when she heard a truck pulling up to her house.

She saw James getting out of his truck, belly first in his overalls and Carhartt jacket. She smiled and waved to him.

"Well, hey there darlin'! Just wanted ta see how ya were getting' by." He said cheerfully before letting out an appreciative whistle. "Well I'll be damned. You sure know how ta fix a place right up then." He said, looking over the house. She beamed with pride and stood up to join him.

"You like it?" She asked and he nodded, never taking his eyes off the house. "You're welcome to check out the inside, I repainted most of it and put some new furniture in there." James looked at her again, and chuckled.

"Well come on then, let's see it." He said, offering his arm to her, which Sydney took and they walked towards the house. The house itself she had painted a dark green with white trim and shutters and she had repainted the front door white, which they now opened.

He took a long look around the space and clapped her on the back, then clapped his hands together. "Whoooweeee it's pretty in here ain't it?" She laughed with him and offered him a drink.

James was rather kind and had been in the diner on Friday night during her shift, where they had gotten to talking. He had been born and raised in Forks, married his high school sweetheart, "She ain't all that sweet no more." He had said and he still worked with one of the lumber companies, having been with them for 34 years.

He offered to help her with the rest of the porch posts and they finished the entire thing within the hour. They had talked and swapped stories, him about town gossip over the years and her about tales from her travels. When he had asked her what actually brought her to Forks after living a life like that, she answered honestly.

"I was in a bad relationship. You know how it goes, seems like everyone's got a story, doesn't it? He just wasn't good for me. Took my fire and hid it away from me until I realized how much I need that fire in my life." She explained, "So I got away, and moved across the country to start something that I could call my own." James grunted his approval and looked over at Sydney.

"Well I can't tell ya how proud I am 'a the work you did. It looks good, real good darlin'." He said, standing up and hooking his thumbs in his overall pockets. Sydney smiled at the man.

"Thank you. And thank you again for letting me rent this house and do what I want with it, I don't know that I'll ever be able to tell you how much I appreciate it." She said, reaching over to pull him into a brief hug.

"Well, I'll let ya get back to it then, but hey, you should come over for dinner some time this week, the ol' lady makes a mean pot roast." He winked. Sydney laughed, "Pot roast is my favorite, so consider it a done deal."

Sydney watched as he drove away, waving from his window. She leaned against the railing and looked down on it with pride. Sure, she had done small projects here and there in the past, but she had effectively fixed up this little house with her own two hands and it was such an empowering feeling. She headed back into the house and picked up her phone.

 _Kyra and I are grabbing dinner at the diner at 630, you should come. And don't worry, it's not a date._

Sydney laughed through her nose as she typed out her response.

 _I actually start my shift at the diner in 20 minutes so I'll probably be the one waiting on you, definitely not a date._

She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and changed into the atrocious non-slip shoes Madge had basically ordered her to wear during her shifts after a close call involving a full tray of food and some spilled coffee on the floor. She turned off the lights of her house and headed to her car when she saw something in the corner of her eyes near the tree line. She spun quickly and caught a glimpse of red fur dashing through the trees.

"That's a damn big fox." She muttered, hopping into her car. She pulled into the diner's lot a few minutes later, and saw that she was essentially 20 minutes early for her shift which Madge made her aware of as soon as she walked into the door.

"I know you like the job, dear, but no need to be this early." Madge joked and Sydney shrugged. "I keep forgetting that it only takes 48 seconds to get from one side of town to the other, I'm used to accounting for traffic."

"The only traffic we have is if a log rolls off the back of a truck." Madge replied. "Well, might as well get started. You can take the back two tables for now until I get these folks taken care of then we can just switch back and forth."

Sydney really enjoyed her work at the diner, it was an easy job and it was fun to talk to the residents of Forks. Most of them had lived there their entire lives and were somewhat stuck in their ways, but it made sense. She was talking to an older couple who had lived in Forks for 68 years when she heard Madge yell, "Anywhere ya like!" Sydney turned to see where they would be sitting and her eyes met Jake's. He nodded in her direction with a small smile and Kyra pulled him into the booth closest to the door.

After refilling the older couple's coffee, Sydney walked up to their table and heard Kyra let out a small, surprised gasp. "Miss Delahunt! You work here too?!" Kyra asked and Sydney laughed, tucking a pen behind her ear.

"It's only because they pay me in French fries." She mocked whispered behind her hand. "What can I get you guys to drink?" She asked, resting her hip on the side of the booth closest to Kyra, angling her body towards Jake without even realizing it.

"Chocolate milk!" Kyra practically yelled, and Jacob just rolled his eyes, "And a coke." He added. Sydney nodded and turned towards the bar. She could hear Kyra rambling to Jacob about turtles. That child was like the sun encompassed in a body, always happy, always shining and always brightening your day. She gathered their drinks quickly and brought them back to the table.

"So what have you guys got planned for the rest of the evening?" Sydney asked, placing their drinks on the table.

"Movie night with a lot of the kiddos you met today." Jacob said and Kyra nodded enthusiastically. "If you don't get off too late, you can always come by. Kyra here is allowed to stay up as late as she wants on Saturday."

"Oh please please please come!" Kyra begged, dropping Sydney's will to resist the offer even further down.

"How about I text your dad when I get off work and if you're still awake and can make it through a movie, I'll stop by for one. Deal?" Sydney asked, crossing her arms. Kyra clapped then, causing her chocolate milk to teeter on its edge. "Let's get your food order in before you knock over all the chocolate milk." She said playfully and Kyra blushed mumbling a 'sorry'.

Jacob ordered half of the menu, which hadn't come as surprise to the kitchen, "I started cooking up his order the second he walked in" Joe, the cook, had grumbled when she read out the request. The next hour passed quickly and many of the town's residents had come and gone, usually just to see who was around to talk, which left Sydney with not a lot to do.

"Well honey, ain't much point of you just standing around. How about you come in for the lunch rush after church tomorrow and maybe make back some of the money you didn't get tonight?" Madge offered after a few of the tables had cleared out. Jacob and Kyra were still sitting in their booth when Sydney plopped down next to Kyra with a basket of French fries in her hand.

"I told you they paid me in French fries." Sydney teased, wiggling a french fry in Kyra's face. "Are you done workin' Ms. Delahunt?" Kyra asked excitedly.

"Looks like it! Does that movie offer still stand?" Sydney asked, chewing on a couple of her fries. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she had started eating and she looked up at Jacob, questioning. He just smiled and nodded.

His smile was unreal, his gleaming white teeth stood out beautifully against his copper skin and when he smiled it shot light into the air around him, showcasing his warmth.

"Well, let me run home and change and I'll meet you at your house?" Sydney asked, finishing off her fries.

"Yeah, it's on the road before the turn off for Sam and Emily's. There's a red house on the corner, then a yellow house on your left, our house is the white one right after. I would give you the address but the reception on the rez is terrible at best, so those are the best directions I can give you." Jacob said, gathering up Kyra's belongings.

"Red house on the corner, white house two houses down, if I get to Sam and Emily's I've gone too far." Sydney repeated, knowing she would remember regardless.

"See you soon! I picked the movie for tonight!" Kyra exclaimed as she shoved her arms into her coat sleeves held out by Jacob.

Sydney waved them off and grabbed her things from the back of the kitchen, saying goodnight to Joe and Madge, promising to come in early tomorrow.

She was going faster than normal on the quiet streets and a light rain had been leaking consistently from the sky for an hour or so. She was nervous, she realized, because she had no idea what to expect from tonight.

"It's just a movie. Nothing more." She placated herself, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. But she knew that she wanted more, she felt so damn comfortable with Jacob, felt so happy when she was around Kyra.

The picture Kyra had drawn for her had made her heart drop. They had looked like a family, an actual fucking family. She couldn't think like that though, she had only known them a week. There was no sane reason why she was feeling this way other than she was latching onto their friendliness and kindness to replace the feelings her relationship with Brice had left her void of.

She couldn't stop her mind from racing as she changed into more comfortable clothes and reapplied her deodorant, hoping she didn't stink. She looked into the mirror before leaving her house scrutinizing her reflection and the thought 'good enough' flitted through her mind. She hopped back into her car and headed towards La Push. She wanted to be liked by everyone in this group because they were so…connected. It seemed like they all took care of each other without even realizing it and Sydney wanted a support system like that in her life, wanted to be a part of the community.

She pulled past the yellow house and saw a few cars parked outside a small white home that she assumed was Jacob's. She found his truck pulled closest to the door and Sydney pulled in wherever she could find room, as she got out of her car she could hear the noise level from inside the house and she laughed quietly, internally preparing herself for the volume change.

She didn't bother knocking and let herself in, sure that no one would have been able to hear her knock anyways and she was greeted with the sight of a lot of the people she had seen earlier in the day but in much more comfortable clothing.

The living room furniture had been pushed towards the walls to make room for what looked like the most comfortable collection of pillows and blankets gathered on the floor. Kids were already claiming their spots and trying to settle in to the nest of comfort around them. There wasn't as many adults around and she had to wonder if Jacob was babysitting all of the kids on his own because it looked like all the kids were here but their parents were missing.

"Sydney!" Came a voice from across the room, jerking Sydney's attention back into focus. Her eyes landed on Seth who was in the kitchen, waving at her. "Come in and get some snacks before they're all gone!" As he said this, he shoved what looked like an entire bag of popcorn into his mouth and Sydney laughed. She started walking towards the kitchen when she felt herself being encased by two very large, very warm arms.

"Glad you could make it." Sydney heard the familiar rumble of Jacob's chest and she automatically wrapped her arms around him as well. "Thanks for having me." She replied simply, before letting go and looking up at him, "I am gonna raid your snacks though, I didn't get a chance to eat dinner and I didn't realize how hungry I was until the drive over here and it looks like Seth is eating it all, so I better get a move on." Jacob just laughed and gestured towards the kitchen.

She found Seth and Quil huddled around the microwave, jockeying for position and Ayana, who she had met earlier in the day, pulling two full trays of cookies from the oven. Ayana was stunning in a way that translated because of the way she carried herself. She walked with such confidence that it radiated from her. Her shoulder length hair was black and she had an athletic build, her strong arms seemingly chiseled and her cheekbones were so pronounced that Sydney was sure models would cut off their limbs just to have. She was effortlessly cool and incredibly charming.

Sydney was the last person in line for the microwave and as she waited for her popcorn to finish, everyone slowly filtered out of the kitchen to claim their spots in the living room. She walked out to see Jacob tucking in Brayden, Jared and Kim's son, into the blankets so only his face was visible. The kids were all talking and giggling but you could only see their heads, which made it quite a humorous sight. She searched for a spot and saw there was space on the couch, next to Seth. She stepped over some of the kids and practically fell into the couch which made Seth laugh.

"I knew you were falling for me." He joked which made Quil and Sydney groan at his cheesy comment. Looking down at all the kids, Sydney couldn't for the life of her, figure out why these grown men were readily sacrificing their Saturday night to watch movies with 8 kids.

Jacob put the movie in and the kids started whispering to each other, knowing it was starting.

"What is it. What is it. What is it." Seth started chanting quietly which caused Sydney to look at him with a confused glance before she heard Ayana and Quil quickly following suit on the chant. Soon after, all of the kids had joined in, getting louder and louder.

"WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT." They were all yelling now and Sydney was laughing so hard she could feel a tear forming. The menu screen popped onto the TV projecting "Moana" and it's opening credits and mostly everyone started cheering loudly barring from Quil who was grumbling about the songs getting stuck in his head.

"It's how we start every movie night. Only the person who chose the movie knows what it is and it's a surprise for everyone else." Jacob explained, settling in on the other side of Sydney, his long legs trying to find space between children's heads. Sydney just shook her head, "That was too funny."

As the movie went on, Sydney was glaringly aware of how close to Jacob she was. This was a small couch and Seth and Jacob were not small men. Their legs were touching and Jacob kept reaching to grab popcorn from her bowl before she eventually had to slap his hand away because his "small bites" were equal to half a bag. At one point he had reached his arm around the back of the couch behind Sydney and she had tried so hard to stay focused on the movie that she realized she stopped breathing.

As the ending credits rolled, she looked down at the kids to see most of them had fallen asleep, cocooned and looking rather blissful. "I have to say I'm pretty jealous. There's no way my bed is going to be as comfy as that looks." She said as she pointed to Will, one of Sam and Emily's sons, who had his mouth hanging open and eyes flitting while he dreamed, his body invisible under the blankets.

"It's kinda why we make this nest. They fall asleep and then we can give them back to their parents nice and zonked out." Jacob explained, a smirk pulling at the left side of his lip. "We usually go into the kitchen once they're passed out and just hang out, have a few beers, maybe play cards if you wanted to stay." He added and Sydney nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds great. To be honest, I don't know how I'm gonna get out of here without waking anyone up or stepping on anyone though…" Seth and Jacob laughed and with impossible grace they simultaneously raised up so they were standing on the cushions where they had just been sitting and stepped over the back of the couch easily. Jacob reached down, offering his hand from the other side as Sydney stared at them open-mouthed. "Show-offs" she muttered, taking his hand and trying desperately not to fall.

She stood up shakily onto the cushion before Jacob grabbed under her arms and lifted her easily over the back and dropped her gently on the floor. Sydney let out a squeak of surprise and then swatted Jacob on the arm. "I am capable of jumping over a couch, thank you." She said indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest and he just waved her off as Quil, Seth, and Ayana made their way back towards the kitchen.

As they all sat down at the table, Sydney heard her phone start ringing. That's weird, it's my old phone, she thought to herself.

"I'm impressed you actually have service out here." Quil mused as Sydney dug through her back, coming up with her old phone. She thought it had been disconnected but apparently not. When she finally got a hold of it, she turned the screen towards her face and froze, not wanting to make a scene.

It was Brice. Of fucking course.

It was like he could sense that she was happy and he needed to kill it, viscerally rip it from her chest with his bare god damn hands. She took a stabilizing breath and tried to play it off as best she could.

"All good there Syd?" Seth asked, handing her a can of Coke. She waved him off, smiling and pretending it was nothing but she could feel her heartbeat thudding against the walls in her throat.

Her phone went off again, signaling a text message. She needed to turn the damn thing off, but as she went to press down the power button she saw the text.

 _Met a real nice waitress in this shit hole of a town who says she knows you. Told me you were working there tomorrow. I don't know why you're here but I'll see you soon sweetheart._

Fuck.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: There are a few references to domestic abuse in this chapter, if you are uncomfortable with reading it, I'll do a brief synopsis of this chapter when I post the next one. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Songs For this chapter: "You" by Keaton Henson, "The Chasers" by Phillip Larue, "Desdemona" by Andrea von Kampen, and "Cold" by Aqualung and Lucy Schwartz.

* * *

" _All good there Syd?" Seth asked, handing her a can of Coke. She waved him off, smiling and pretending it was nothing but she could feel her heartbeat in her throat._

 _Her phone went off again, signaling a text message. She needed to turn the damn thing off, but as she went to press down the power button she saw the text._

" _Met a real nice waitress in this shit hole of a town who says she knows you. Told me you were working there tomorrow. I'll see you soon sweetheart."_

 _Fuck._

Sydney felt like her chest was caving in, like there was a storm raging war against the caverns of her ribs, crashing into her with the overwhelming feeling of dread. Her vision became blurry as she focused on breathing and she realized she had never felt this before, pure and unadulterated panic. It took her a second to focus again, becoming aware that she hadn't yet answered Seth. She looked up to meet his eye and saw that everyone in the kitchen was looking at her with confusion and worry.

Her heart didn't stop its galloping thuds as she answered, "Yeah, just someone I didn't think I would hear from again."

Of all towns to stop for food in, he stopped in _Forks_ at the diner _she worked at_. Her thoughts felt like they were jumbled together, like they were running around in her head screaming and bumping into each other. She needed to pull it together.

"Syd?" She heard a gentle voice ask. Shit. She really needed to pull it together, she was making a fool of herself in front of people she barely knew.

"Yeah? Sorry, spaced out for a second there." She replied, feeling the mask of lightheartedness settle over her but as she made eye contact with Jacob she saw that he wasn't buying into it, his brow furrowed in concern.

Ayana slowly stood up and approached Sydney, looking at her knowingly. Ayana stood in front of Sydney, forcing her to look up into Ayana's deep brown eyes that were hardened with determination. Ayana reached for Sydney and pulled her into an embrace without notice, but this hug was tight and all encompassing and Sydney realized immediately Ayana was putting pressure on her chest to help alleviate the panic. She knew what Sydney was feeling. Embarrassment soon took panic's place at the forefront of Sydney's mind and she laughed quickly through her nose at herself.

She realized that the kitchen was silent, no one moving or speaking or even breathing, it seemed.

"Thanks Ayana. Apparently, I needed that." Sydney said, wrapping her arms around the woman. So much for good impressions.

"Hey guys, why don't you see if there's any basketball games on tonight. We'll be out in a bit." Ayana said, still holding Sydney, effectively dismissing the men in the room. Sydney felt oddly relieved.

"I'm assuming it was an ex?" Ayana asked, letting Sydney go but still holding onto her arms and looking at her face now. Sydney nodded.

"And you moved here to get away?" Sydney nodded again.

"And he knows where you are now?" Damn this girl was good. Sydney nodded once more and sighed, closing her eyes.

"How bad was he?" Ayana asked, her voice barely audible even though Sydney was right in front of her. Sydney looked up and saw Ayana looking down on her with her head slightly tilted and compassion in her eyes. Sydney wasn't ready to answer these questions yet. It had only been a couple weeks. It was too fresh, too soon.

"It only ever got physical once but once was enough to let me know that I needed to get away." Sydney said finally.

"Okay." Was all Ayana said.

Sydney could feel her breathing finally returning to normal and could no longer hear her heartbeat in her ears. So at least I have that going for me, she thought dryly.

"Apparently, he went to the diner and Madge told him I worked there, so he'll probably be there when I work tomorrow." Sydney felt compelled to explain. "I"ll just have to call Madge and let her know what's going on. I was really trying to avoid that, to be honest. I didn't want people knowing about it and I really just wanted a fresh start here, a place that was mine and mine alone. With no one looking at me with that disgusting look of pity like I'm some battered housewife. It's no one's business and it's behind me anyways" She was rambling now and she stopped abruptly. Ayana had let go of her arms and was walking towards one of the cupboards.

"Tea?" Was all she asked. Sydney let out her breath in a huff and nodded. "Emily makes her own tea and gives it to everyone, so Jacob is bound to have some in here somewhere." She seemed to finally find the container and starting boiling water.

"Well, let's think about this rationally for a sec." Ayana said, prepping the two mismatched mugs. "Let's say you go to work tomorrow, but some of the guys and I hang out there too, and if he makes an appearance, the guys just talk to him and tell him to fuck kindly off."

Sydney mulled it over for a second before realizing she wasn't too keen on the idea.

"Honestly, I don't want anyone fighting my battles for me. I can take care of myself and I can talk to him. It would be nice if they were there in case things got out of hand but I can handle Brice on my own. Plus, I barely know you guys, I would feel terrible asking that." Sydney said, taking the steaming mug from Ayana. Ayana flicked Sydney's forehead, causing her to jump.

"Don't be an idiot. Of course we'll be there to support you. We're a small town, we take care of our own and you're part of this fucked up family whether you want to be or not." She said, smugly before sitting on top of the counter. "Go to work like you normally would and just let us know what time your shift starts and don't worry about it. He can't steal your independence. You're here now, you've built a life and this place is yours. Not his."

Sydney realized Ayana was speaking with wisdom well beyond her years and speaking from what felt like experience. She couldn't be any older than 20 and here she was giving Sydney life advice like things like this happened all the time. Sydney had a sinking and sudden realization.

"How long has it been since you got away?" Sydney asked simply, quietly. Ayana shrugged, looking out the window at the dark night.

"I didn't get away. He still lives on the rez, 3 minute drive from here actually, married now, with a kid. That's what scares me most is that he has a child in his house. A helpless, defenseless child…He wasn't so bad until he started drinking but it seems like as of late, he's always drinking. His wife was a friend of mine in school, not so much anymore." Ayana took a sip of her tea as if talking about this wasn't emotionally draining and robbing her of her emotions, "We started dating young, when we were 14. He wasn't physical at first, but it only took a couple months before he got aggressive, this rez is so small it felt like everyone knew but no one ever said anything. My parents were never around so they didn't know and his parents were always too drunk to function. I knew our neighbors could hear us fighting but they didn't say anything, didn't want to get involved. Don't ask, don't tell, I guess."

Sydney wanted to reach out for Ayana, but thought better of it, letting her work through her own emotions.

"Then one day, a few years back, I got _so_ mad. I was tired of fighting, tired of screaming, tired of this life that I had been born into. It turned into this rage, this uncontrollable rage that felt like it was burning me alive. That's when Jacob found me. Took me under his wing. Gave me a job at the garage and a place to stay, away from him. And now here I am, good as new." Ayana finished, looking at Sydney now. "And you will be too." Sydney offered up a small smile and a genuine thank you. She took a sip of the tea and looked down at her mug. That shit was delicious.

They both sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own head. So many thoughts were swirling around Sydney's head, each one only lasting for a moment before being replaced with another.

"You can come back in now, Jacob." Ayana said and before Sydney could blink, Jacob had wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and had buried his head in the space between her shoulder and neck.

"We got you." Was all he said and Sydney put her mug on the table before reaching up and holding his arms as he held her. "I know you do." Was all she could say back.

"Okay, enough of the heavy, let's enjoy the rest of the night." Quil said, stepping into the kitchen. Sydney laughed and agreed.

"I was really excited to kick your asses in poker." She joked, squeezing Jacob's arms once. He let her go and went to the fridge, pulling out a few beers.

"Oh, the little lady talks a big game, huh?" Seth said, rubbing Sydney's shoulders before sitting down at the end of the table.

"Oh, it's not talk, this _little lady_ will kick your ass. I'm just letting you know ahead of time." She said snarkily, sticking her tongue out at Seth who returned the gesture sarcastically. Jacob handed her a beer and sat next to her, with Quil and Ayana across from them.

She looked around the table and the thought 'my people' flashed through her mind. They played poker and talked easily for a couple of hours, just enjoying each other's company and she felt herself relax.

"Okay, I should get home, I didn't realize how late it was." Sydney said after winning her 3rd game in a row, much to Seth's annoyance. It was almost one in the morning now. "Thanks for tonight, guys." She said to Quil and Seth as she stood up. Ayana and Jacob followed her to the front door.

She picked up her purse from where she had left it hours before. "So I start work at 10 am but I always end up going in early." Sydney said to Ayana who just nodded.

"No problem. Give me your phone so I can save my number, just text me when you're leaving your house and I'll head that way."

"Thank you again for doing this. It'll be nice to have someone in my corner." Sydney said and Ayana just flicked her forehead again.

"Stop feeling guilty. It's fine. Plus, it'll give me the chance to get some of the paperwork done that's been piled up at the shop. I am expecting an obnoxious amount of free coffee refills though." She said with a wink. Sydney just laughed and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you." She mumbled into Ayana's hair.

"Of course, now go home. I'll see you tomorrow." She replied, smiling before turning back towards the kitchen.

"I'll walk you out." Jacob said tensely. Sydney felt her chest deflate in embarassment, she knew she had been a terrible guest and had disrupted the night.

They walked to her car in silence and as Sydney went to open her mouth to apologize, Jacob held up his hand to stop her.

"Ayana was right, stop apologizing." He said with a teasing smile. "I'd like to be there tomorrow, if that's okay with you."

"I don't want you to feel obligated." She said. "But, I'd love to have you there. I don't know why but I feel safe when you're around." Jacob's teasing smiled turned into a full-blown grin.

"Well that settles it then. I'll see you in the morning." He pulled her into another beautifully warm hug. "Let me know when you get home safe, okay?" He kissed the top of her head and opened her car's door. She got in and looked at him as he held her door open.

"Thanks for tonight. All of it. The movie, the games, just…thanks." There were so many more things she wanted to say, so many things that were pressing against her mind, wanting to come out but she stopped them. Now wasn't the time.

"Good night Sydney." He said and closed her door as she started her car. He rapped on the hood twice before she put it into reverse and backed out of his yard.

She managed to make it to the end of street before the sobs that had been sitting stagnant in her chest started to make her chest heave erratically. She was feeling so many different emotions that it was overwhelming.

She was annoyed at Brice that he had found her, that he was putting himself in her life without her permission. She felt guilty for dragging people she barely knew into a situation like this, she felt helpless that this stupid, pathetic _boy_ was controlling her life like this, and above all she was pissed.

How did it get this far? She thought to herself, letting the tears roll freely down her cheeks. She was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles had turned white and she made herself focus on the road. She would let herself feel freely tonight, but tomorrow, she needed to be strong. Show Brice that he didn't control her anymore, that she wanted no part of him. She started planning what exactly she would say to him to make him understand that she wanted him to leave her the hell alone, that didn't involve punching him in the face.

She let out a long sigh, let her chest empty itself of the emotions and weight that it had been carrying and let herself get lost in the monotony of driving in the dark. As she pulled into her driveway, she realized what a long day it had been, this morning's cook-out felt like lifetimes ago and she was exhausted.

She hauled herself out of her car and unlocked her door and felt a wave of calm come over her. She was home. She closed the door behind her and just leaned against it. She got ready for bed in a daze, going through the motions but not really allowing herself to think. As she sank into her bed, her blanket pulled up to her chin, she felt herself drift off to sleep almost instantly, she would deal with whatever came her way in the morning.

" _Hey beautiful, sorry I'm home late, some of the guys from work wanted to grab a beer really quick." Brice said, kissing the top of her head as she set the book she had been reading down on the couch next to her. She could smell the alcohol rolling off his breath from where she sat._

" _Oh nice, when did you get cut from the serving roster?" She asked so she would know what her work day would be like the next day._

" _Probably around 8:30?" He said putting his keys on the counter._

" _4 hours ago?" She asked calmly, looking at a spot on the wall while he went into the kitchen and grabbed a Bud Light from the fridge. He only drank Bud Light when he was already drunk and that meant it was going to be a long night._

" _Babe, we just went out and got a few beers, I wasn't watching the time. It's not like we had plans tonight anyways." He said, drinking from the can, his soulless brown eyes glassing over._

 _Brice had short black hair, almost buzzed to his head and glasses. He was a bit on the lanky side but was still strong, stronger than he liked to let on. He was about 6'0" and had an angular face that jutted from beneath his skin._

" _Did you have fun?" She asked, still staring at the wall. He took a deep breath and walked over to her._

" _Are we really gonna do this? Fucking pretend like it's okay?" He asked, his voice raising slightly. Sydney didn't want to fight, especially not after the screaming match they had earlier that day. He had left to go to work and they were both still pissed. She didn't want to fight, but she wasn't about to let him walk all over her._

" _I'm not pretending, Brice. I'm saying its fine because I don't care anymore. You do what you want, I just don't care. I haven't cared in a while and I think you know that." She tried to keep her voice level and calm, knowing he would be flying off the handle in 3, 2,…._

" _ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? We're having this fight again?!" He yelled, crossing the room towards her in a few steps. She sighed, her eyes closing and stood up._

" _I don't want to do this, Brice. You're drunk. We'll talk in the morning. I wanted to make sure you got home safe but now that you are, I'm going to bed." She said as calm as she could muster, trying to step around him._

" _There's another guy, isn't there?" he asked lowly, blocking her path with his outstretched arm._

" _Oh for the love of Christ, no! I'm just tired of this…of us! I don't want this anymore. I don't think you do either. Let's just leave it for tonight, okay?"_

" _No, we're not just gonna leave it, Sydney, you want to go off again and that's okay, just be fucking honest with me." He said, no longer yelling but there was still an edge to his voice._

 _Sydney rubbed her forehead with her fingers, willing patience to spring from her fingertips. "It's not about that Brice and you know it, stop trying to flip this."_

" _Sweetheart, you know I would never make you choose between me and traveling, you know I would never make you feel like that." His voice was kind now, sarcastic sympathy dripping from his lips._

 _For months now, he had been trying to blame their failing relationship on her love of travel, on the fact that years ago she had "left him to gallivant across the world while he supported them" as he had put it. It was a ridiculous claim and they both knew it._

" _That's the thing though, you want me to choose, you want that fight because you want me to be the bad guy!" She had said. "Fuck! Brice, we've been fighting like this for months. I can't keep doing this with you. Maybe we weren't supposed to work out. Maybe this our time to call it."_

" _You don't know what you're saying, Sydney." He said threateningly. "Let's not make any decisions we would regret, right babe?" His voice sliced through her like razors and she felt her heart drop. He wasn't acting like himself, all pretenses of holding back were gone and there was a sudden anger in his eyes Sydney had never seen before._

" _Take. It. Back." He seethed through his teeth as he pulled his shoulders back, straightening his tall form._

" _Brice, let's just go to bed." She said as soothingly as she could, knowing when it was time to back down. It felt as if he was staring through her, not actually seeing her as he drank the rest of his beer in three gulps before throwing the can on the floor._

" _No." His voice was devoid of all emotions but anger, as if he had left his body and was now just a shell of a man. A shell of a man that only knew fury._

 _He took a step towards her and she tensed, ready to fight back if she had to. She looked him in the eyes with a new determination and straightened her shoulders, ready for what may come._

Sydney's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, safe in her bed. She took the room around her in with her frantic eyes and looked at the clock. 8:30am. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, falling back onto the bed in a huff. 'Here we go' She muttered to her ceiling.

She stepped into the hot shower, the showerhead spraying pitifully and erratically. She had never dreamed of that night before and frankly, she didn't want it to happen again. She let the hot water run down her back, imagining all her stress and worries falling down her body and into the drain like they were water too.

She washed her hair and could hear her alarm going off in the bedroom.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She called to her non-living phone from the bathroom, turning off the water.

She wrapped a towel around herself and padded to the bedroom, retrieving her phone and shutting the obnoxious alarm off. She grabbed her old phone from where it sat on the night stand and started playing her downloaded music. She found an old playlist that she had made while working in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and smiled, thinking about that place. She had been so happy there, so loved, so…free.

She had gotten dressed quickly and was pulling a brush through her curls when she heard a knock at the door. She froze, panicked.

No one knew where she lived, no one but James and Madge. Would he be visiting so soon after stopping by yesterday? Had Brice found her? Had Madge told him where she lived? Sydney grabbed her phone and pulled Jacob's number up on her phone, finger on the 'Call' button.

She opened her door slowly and immediately relaxed.

"Jacob, what the hell, you scared me. I honestly had you on speed dial in case he had found my house." She said, showing Jacob her screen and laughing lightly.

Realization crossed his face and immediately turned into guilt. "I should have called! I'm so sorry." He sputtered. "I wanted to surprise you with coffee but I can see that it definitely backfired." He held out the cup like it was an olive branch and Sydney took it.

"It's fine, really, it is. How did you know where I lived, anyways?" She asked genuinely curious before taking a sip of the steaming cup.

"Syd, you realize how small this town is, right? When someone new moves in, everyone knows. I'm sure you've had the entire town drive by your house hoping for a peek." He joked and stepped into the house after Sydney had stepped aside. He looked around her living room and took it all in, as if he was memorizing the space. "Did you do all this?" He asked, gesturing around them. She smiled and nodded proudly.

"Yep." She popped the 'p' and smirked. "Painted the exterior, redid the trim and the gutters outside, fixed the screen door then I repainted the inside, redid some of the fixtures in the bathroom and basically just scrubbed it from top to bottom." She said, looking around with him. She had done a lot, and she was damn proud of what she had been able to accomplish in such a short time.

"Damn. Impressive." Jacob looked at her with appreciation and Sydney felt herself blush.

"We still have some time before I have to be at the diner. I was gonna make some breakfast, would you like some?" She asked, walking towards the kitchen.

"Breakfast sounds perfect. Kyra hates my cooking so we've been eating a lot of cereal recently so anything that's not cereal would be a welcome change." He said and took a seat at the tiny dining room table Sydney had put against the wall. He looked gigantic shoved up against the table and Sydney realized just how big that man was.

"How about some eggs and bacon?" She asked, her head in the fridge, looking around and trying to shake inappropriate thoughts from her mind.

"Sure sure." He replied easily.

"So, Jacob Black, tell me about yourself." Sydney said, cracking eggs into a bowl. She didn't know how many to make, she normally only ate two but Jacob looked like he could easily eat a dozen. She cracked 10 into the bowl, just in case.

"What is this, a date?" Jacob asked and Sydney laughed loudly.

"Not a date." She said, rolling her eyes at him. He shrugged and smiled up at her. "Worth a shot" She heard him mutter out of the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I was born here, raised here. I have two older sisters that are twins, Rachel and Rebecca. You've already met Rachel and Rebecca lives in Hawaii with her husband and 3 kids. I have a daughter named Kyra who you've also met and are lucky to spend more time with her during the day than I do. After I got my GED, I worked in a garage here in Forks part time before Embry, Quil and I bought out the old one on the rez and opened our own and I love what I do. I also do some work for the tribe and that's why everyone from yesterday is so close, we all work together and have for years. I also really like to whittle, I haven't for years, but I used to do it all the time. Um, I think that covers it." He said, wearing a shit-eating grin.

"What kind of work do you do for the tribe?" Sydney asked before turning back to the pans on the stove.

"Well, we used to do security but now it's kind of transformed into working with teenagers in the community. Trying to get them on the right track, helping them with school and trying to keep them out of the drug scene." He explained. Well aren't you just the literal description of perfection, Sydney thought to herself.

"That's really noble of you guys. I had no idea. What's that like? Do you get a lot of resistance from the teenagers?" She asked.

"We did at first, a lot people were really set in their ways and they didn't want the help, saw it as demeaning. We definitely didn't mean for it to come across that way, but we're a prideful people and some people are perfectly happy smoking and drinking their lives away. It can be hard watching kids that you saw take their first steps ask you for money you know is going to booze or heroin but we do what we can. And honestly, as the years have gone on, the teenagers have almost come to expect it, so they don't resist the help as much."

"I'd love to get involved if I could. I love the sense of community around here and I want to give back as much as I can." Sydney said, putting a huge portion of eggs and 6 pieces of bacon on a plate and handing it to Jacob. "Bon Appetit."

"You should talk to Emily, she's the one that kind of spearheaded this mission, she'd love to have you in any capacity." He said. "And thanks, this looks delicious." He shoved a giant forkful into his mouth as Sydney sat down. They ate in silence, each just enjoying each other's company. As Sydney took her last bite, Jacob grabbed her plate and took it to the sink.

"You ready to go?" He asked, suddenly serious. Oh yeah. Shit.

"I had honestly forgotten about it. Here I was just enjoying our not date." She said playfully and he smiled but it didn't reach his beautiful eyes.

"Let's get going, yeah?" He said gently and Sydney pulled herself up out of the chair. "I can drive, if you want." He offered.

"You don't have to, I don't want to make you stay there my entire shift especially if he's there early and leaves without a problem."

Jacob shrugged. "Kyra is with her Aunt Rachel today, so I have no plans but hanging out at the diner." Sydney studied his face for a moment, looking for hesitation. Finding none, she lightly touched his arm.

"Thanks." Was all she said. It was all she felt like she needed to say. They got into his truck and drove towards the diner as an ever-so-light rain started. She wasn't as nervous as she thought she would be, she definitely didn't feel confident about seeing him again but she felt like she could handle the situation.

Jacob broke through her thoughts by asking her questions about her travels. Damn, he was good at redirecting. Sydney felt the familiar warm glow within her as she talked about her time camping in the jungles of Belize, and getting led at gunpoint by two Guatemalan guards from a Mayan site after she had mistakenly crossed into Guatemala without realizing it.

"They were so pissed and I was _so confused_." She finished the story laughing and Jacob was laughing too as they pulled into the diner. Jacob turned to her silently and took her face in his hands.

"We got you. I got you." He said, staring into her eyes and Sydney could feel her heart fluttering like a butterfly's wings. He leaned forward and Sydney froze, thinking he was about to kiss her when at the last moment he went north and kissed her forehead. She let out the breath that had gotten itself caught in her throat. "Shall we?" He asked, pulling away and opened his door.

Sydney hopped out of Jacob's truck and into the mud that seemed to be a permanent fixture of the parking lot, her shoes squishing and squelching as she walked. She took quick inventory of the cars parked around them and she didn't see any cars that resembled rentals. She took a deep breath and smiled bravely at Jacob who was watching her with a wary eye.

"I'm good." She said, trying to convince him as much as she was trying to convince herself. He held the door for her and she stepped inside, straightening her shoulders.

She did a quick check and didn't see him. She could feel the tension leaving her body in waves. She looked back at Jacob who was scanning each face and shook her head at him. "He's not here. I'm gonna go in the back and talk to Madge, give her a heads up. I'll bring out a coke for you." She said and touched his arm again. His gaze snapped down to Sydney's and he nodded tensely.

"I'll be over there so I can see who comes in." He said and oddly, sent her a bright smile which she was thankful for. Sydney walked over to the counter, finding Madge talking to someone at the bar.

"Hey Madge, can I talk to you privately for a sec?" She asked quietly, not wanting to be overheard. Madge perked up and set the ever-present coffee pot down from her grasp and nodded towards the kitchen.

"What is it sweetie?" Madge asked, sticking a pen behind her ear, concern coloring her face. Sydney took a deep breath and explained everything. Well, everything that Madge needed to know.

"I had no idea!" She cried, looking distressed. "I woulda never told him, I'm so sorry sweetie!" Sydney just shook her head.

"Please don't apologize, you didn't know. I just wanted to give you a heads up in case he does come today and I need to head outside for bit." Madge nodded, still looking worried.

"Are you sure you don't want to just go home?" She asked. Sydney laughed and shook her head.

"I don't want to run. I want to make a life for myself here and I don't want him in any part of it, so I have to deal with this now." She explained and Madge nodded reluctantly.

Sydney walked back out to the dining area and got to work, refilling coffees and greeting the faces she had started to recognize.

Ayana came in and sat with Jacob twenty minutes later, carrying a stack of papers as long as her torso. Jacob groaned so loud everyone in the diner laughed.

"This is what happens when you put off paperwork for 6 months, boss." Ayana said patronizingly. The bell on the door chimed and Sydney turned.

Fucking Brice.

He was searching the small diner and Sydney honestly and seriously contemplated ducking behind the counter, but she kept her eyes focused on him, letting the rage that was welling inside her take hold instead of dismissing it like she normally would.

She heard a primal, grating sound coming from behind her and then a gentle "She's got it, boss. Let her handle it." Sydney's turned quickly and saw Ayana's hand on Jacob's chest, pushing him back into the booth. Jacob looked…there were no words. Pissed doesn't even begin to describe the look on his face. Animalistic is a better representation.

Sydney's eyes jerked back to where Brice was still standing in the doorway. He looked like hell. He had dark purple bags under his bloodshot eyes, his shoulders were hunched slightly as if he were too exhausted to hold them straight. His clothes were uncharacteristically wrinkled and his angular face looked skeletal compared to its normal gaunt.

"Sweetheart." He said pitifully relieved. Sydney felt like everyone else in the diner had disappeared and she turned to Ayana.

"We'll be outside, can you watch us through the window?" She asked and Ayana nodded. Sydney stole a glance at Jacob who was still staring at Brice like at any moment he would rip himself from the booth and tear Brice's head from his shoulders.

"Hey. I'm good. I know you got me." She said softly, brushing his shoulder with her fingertips. Sydney could see how hard, how painful it was for Jacob to tear his eyes from the man in the doorway to look back at her. He nodded tensely at her, searching her face. A small smile presented itself on her lips and she turned back to Brice.

The 15 feet between them seemed to go on forever as Sydney walked towards him, stopping only to put the coffee pot on the counter. She never broke eye contact with him though, willing the rage that was now fueling her blood to rise. She wanted to feel this pain, wanted to break apart with white hot fury so she could show him a glimpse of what he had put her through. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't be that person to inflict pain just because she was in pain.

After the seemingly endless walk to the door, she was finally in front of him. "Let's talk outside." She said, not even bothering with greetings. He looked taken aback, like he had expected her to be _happy_ to see him.

She opened the door and a cold breeze hit her face, her gut automatically clenching. Her nerves were everywhere and she felt like she might break. She had to do this, she needed to do this, wanted to do this. "Why are you here Brice?" She asked, turning to face him near the window where she knew Ayana and Jake were sitting.

"I came to take you home babe." He said, obviously confused. "You haven't been answering my calls or texts. I've been trying to get a hold of you for 2 weeks. Had to convince your mother to tell me where you were-"

Sydney cut him off. "No, you broke into her home and searched through her personal belongings until you found out where I had gone." She wasn't going to bother dealing with his lies. His brow furrowed and his head tilted.

"Why the hostility? I came all the way out here to make sure you were okay because I care about you, because I love you, why are you acting like this?" Sydney scoffed at that, not even wanting to dignify it with a response.

"Why am I acting like this? Brice, you know why. Don't make me say it out loud." She said, crossing her arms against the cold air that was now seeping into her skin and bones.

"Look, sweetheart, I know we fight a lot, it's what we do, so we got into a bad fight? You didn't have to leave because of one fight. That's just ridiculous." Brice looked…annoyed. It seemed to ignite a raging fire in her belly that reached new heights and she reveled in it, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before answering. When she opened her eyes, she stared at the spot right below his throat, where his Adam's apple jumped every time he swallowed. She couldn't look him in the eye, not yet, not until she said what she needed to.

"Brice, you _beat_ me. You beat me so badly that you broke ribs. It's been two weeks and I still can't bend all the way over because of you. I have bruises everywhere that are finally healing but are also a daily reminder of why I got away, why I got away from _you._ I will not spend any more time with a _boy_ that thinks it's okay to do this to anyone, let alone the woman he claims to love. I do not want you in my life. I do not want you to contact me _ever_ again. I do not want you to return to Forks, if you ever step foot in this town, I will know and I will call the police. You are not to contact my mother ever again and you are to _leave me the hell alone_."

She finally looked up to meet his eyes and there were so many emotions on his face that she couldn't sort through them fast enough to keep up. After watching every human emotion pass across the canvas of his skin, Sydney watched as he seemed to flicker between regret and rage until his face finally settled on one, rage. The look in his eye from that night was back. That detached, feral look that told her he wasn't really there.

He straightened his shoulders and the last thought Sydney had was 'We're in a parking lot, you idiot.' Before the world around her collapsed into a deafeningly silent abyss.


	8. Chapter 7

Songs for this chapter: "Weather" by Novo Amor, "Mother" by Bear's Den, "Where's My Love" by SYML, and "Slip" by Elliot Moss. As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 6 _Super_ Short Recap: Sydney gets a text from Brice that he'll be at the diner the next morning, she tells Ayana everything about their relationship. Jake and Ayana go with her to her shift at the diner, Brice shows up and tries to talk to her, Sydney tells him she doesn't want anything to do with him, Brice gets angry, Sydney loses consciousness.

* * *

Sydney could feel the pain before she even realized she was conscious. The steady thrum against her skull right behind her eyes, the blood pulsing so loud it echoed in her ears. For a brief moment, she had forgotten where she was and why she was there and the second reality instilled itself in her mind, she winced.

The tiny movement caused a new onslaught of throbbing pain, this time in her nose. She was in so much pain her stomach was turning itself over and she groaned without even realizing it.

"Hey, I'm right here. Try not to move too much, we got out here as soon as we could." Ayana. At least, Sydney thought it was Ayana's voice. Honestly, she couldn't really tell. They just sounded like words and words were too loud, too much.

Sydney tried to think back as to why she was in so much pain. She knew she had been talking with Brice in the parking lot and he had gotten mad, so mad…but why? When she tried to think back, her head felt like there was a branding iron, white hot, shoved through the center of her skull so instead, she focused on trying not to think of anything at all.

"She needs to see a doctor." Ayana stated to someone.

"As soon as Paul and Embry get here we can go." Jake.

Sydney needed to open her eyes, tell them it wasn't as bad as they were making it out to be. She squinted against the light cast by the gloomy day around them. She realized she was still in the parking lot, her legs splayed in front of her body covered in the ever-present mud and her torso was being held up by Ayana who was seated directly behind her.

"Well, good morning sunshine." Ayana said, relieved. "Gave us a good scare there, missy." Sydney tried to smile but only the left corner of her mouth seemed to want to cooperate.

Her head was still pulsating, throbbing, and every movement seemed to compound the pain. She looked around them, still squinting, and saw Jake standing over Brice's limp body sprawled in the mud not 15 feet away from them.

 _Is he dead,_ Her thoughts were asking and Ayana seemed to read her mind by answering, "He's just knocked out. He took that first swing at you and we tried to get out here as fast as we could, but he managed to get in two solid blows before Jake here played hero and gave him a taste of his own medicine." Sydney looked up at Jake, who seemed torn between wanting to rip apart Brice's body limb from limb and scooping Sydney up into his arms and running as far as he could.

"Thank you." She said to both of them. As she became more aware of her surroundings, her guilt started slowly, seeping into her mind like the start of a flood before embarrassment took its place with a force akin to a tidal wave. She could never thank them enough for what they did for her today and _oh god,_ they were still in the parking lot of her work.

Sydney tried to stand up quickly, but Ayana pulled her back down before she could even begin to get her footing.

"It's okay, Madge saw what happened, she's keeping everyone inside until we can figure this all out." Ayana said soothingly. Sydney wanted to crawl out of her skin. _They had all seen, they all knew. Shit. So much for a fresh start._

Sydney looked back at Ayana and apparently had all of her doubts and worries scrawled all over her face because Ayana just shook her head, "Everyone understands and they're trying their best to give you the privacy you need."

Sydney groaned and leaned her head back into Ayana's shoulder. "Damn it." Was all she could mutter. Leave it to Brice to ruin this life she had created for herself, a life she could have seen herself really immersing herself in, getting to truly belong to something bigger than herself.

"Charlie's here." Jake said, looking down the road.

"So is Embry and Paul." Sydney felt Ayana's head nod towards the woods behind the diner. _Why are they coming from the woods?_

Jake seemed to shift into the role of coordinator in a second, Sydney watched as he directed Embry and Paul to stand guard by Brice, then went over to Chief Swan to relay the events and then finally made his way over to Sydney.

"We're gonna take you over to the hospital, get your eye and nose looked at." He said softly, apparently trying to reassure Sydney.

"Oh god, how broken is my nose?" Sydney asked, suddenly very self-conscious. Jacob just shook his head and smiled softly.

"Not bad at all. But I just want to make sure you're okay." He reached up to Sydney's face and cradled his hand against her cheek. "I can take her in my car if you want to drive them to the station." Jake said over Sydney's head to Ayana who nodded.

Sydney went to go stand up but before she could, Jake had picked her up gently and swiftly into his arms bridal style. Sydney had to reach around his neck to get her balance and she looked up at him indignantly.

"I broke my face, not my legs." She said in a huff. Jacob just smiled down at her smugly. "I know."

He placed her in his truck's passenger side and shut the door, running to the other side. Sydney laid her head against the head rest and felt like the throbbing in her head was shaking the glass behind her.

"Here. Lean your head back and hold this under your nose. It's been bleeding off an on for a few minutes." Jake said and handed Sydney a rag that looked like it had been used in his garage more than a few times. Sydney smiled at the gesture. She did as she was told and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry we didn't get out there sooner." He whispered, looking solemn as he pulled the truck onto the road from the parking lot.

Sydney pulled her head up to look over at him. "Jake, please don't apologize. I'm sorry I had to put you in that position. It's inexcusable and I feel terrible. I didn't realize he would pull something like that and please know that I appreciate everything you did." She laid her head back down on the seat and sighed.

"Trust me, it was no problem. No man should ever raise a hand to a woman like that, so it was my pleasure to give it right back to him." Jake said, shrugging. They sat in companionable silence for the rest of the ride to the hospital which Sydney was thankful for, her head pulsing.

After they checked in and let the receptionist know the basic facts of what had happened, they sat in the waiting room next to each other. Sydney laid her head on Jacob's shoulder, or rather his upper bicep because he was so damn tall, and he laid his enormous hand on her thigh, comforting her.

"Not a date." She said quietly and Jacob let out a laugh that shook his entire body. "Definitely not a date." He agreed.

"Ms. Delahunt?" A nurse poked her head out of the double doors and Sydney and Jacob stood up in unison. Jacob grabbed Sydney's hand as they walked to the exam room and Sydney felt oddly calm with him by her side.

The hospital visit was uneventful overall, with Sydney's injuries getting attended to by more than one nurse. Probably so they could all get a look at the girl who's pyscho ex attacked her in the diner parking lot in the middle of the day, she thought to herself more than once. But Jacob stayed with her the entire time, telling stories, cracking jokes, and making faces while the nurses' backs were turned. He managed to make Sydney laugh, made her forget why she was there in the first place which she was beyond grateful for.

When her nose had to be reset because of how it had been broken, he had held her hand and talked her through the process, offering words of comfort and kindness as the doctor jerked her nose back into place.

After Sydney signed the paperwork that detailed the extent of her injuries; a severely broken nose and a concussion, they walked back out to his truck holding hands.

"Thank you, Jake." She said, suddenly stopping in the parking lot to look up at him. She knew she could never put into words just how grateful she was for him and how much he had done for her. Jake just smiled and said, "Please stop mentioning it. I was glad to do it. Mostly because it meant I get to spend time alone with you." He winked then, causing Sydney to snort through her nose which she regretted immediately.

The pain shot up through her nose and into her head. "Oh crap, OW!" She yelled, bringing her hands to her face. "Stop making me laugh!" She yelled to him and Jacob looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or to comfort her and when she saw this indecision on his face, she muttered, "Jackass." Which made a booming laugh erupt from Jacob's chest. Sydney smacked him on the arm and started walking towards his truck.

"We'll need to go over to the police station to give your statement to Charlie. I told him that we'd come meet him at the station so you wouldn't have to do it at the hospital." Jake said as they got into the truck. Sydney sighed and nodded. She knew it would have to happen eventually.

As they drove, she thought back to every moment Brice had made her feel weak, had stolen her power from her, stolen her voice. She thought back to the years she had lost with family and friends because of his control, because she had been too blind to see what he was doing to her.

She wanted to show him that he no longer had control and that she was stronger than he thought she was.

"He'll be inside?" Sydney asked as they pulled up to the small police station. Jake nodded as he put the truck in park.

"But he'll be in a different area, probably one of the interview rooms so you won't have to see him." Jacob explained. They walked up the stairs and when Sydney walked through the doors she saw Chief Swan, Seth, Paul, and Embry huddled around a desk situated in the back corner of the office. They all turned their heads to the door as she walked through, each with varying expressions of seriousness.

Embry looked concerned, Paul looked as if he could kill something, Seth looked like he was in pain and Chief Swan looked like he was thinking, "I'm too old for this."

"What did I tell you about blocking punches with your face?" Seth joked, trying to ease the tension and Sydney smiled as he wrapped her in a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I know, I know." She laughed lightly and then walked towards Charlie's desk.

"You ready to give your statement?" He asked. "We can always wait, but I like to do it as close to the incident as possible." Sydney just shook her head.

"I'm ready."

She wanted this to be done, wanted to make sure Brice paid for the hell he had dragged her through. She sat at the desk and the 5 men pulled up chairs around her. Sydney panicked for a moment, surely they wouldn't be there for the interview. Sure, she could handle Jacob or Seth hearing all the details but she barely knew Paul and Embry.

"Why don't you boys go grab us something to eat for lunch and let Madge know Sydney is back from the hospital. She's been calling every few minutes worried." Charlie said, waving his hand towards the door.

"I'm staying." Seth and Jacob said in unison, then looked at each other before looking to Sydney. Sydney nodded and flicked her hand towards the two open chairs next to her. Chief Swan rolled his eyes and sat down behind his desk.

Jacob stared at Paul and Embry, communicating an enormous amount in a glance, before he took a seat next to Sydney and the two men strode out of the police station.

"Alright Ms. Delahunt, I'm gonna be askin' a lot of real personal questions. If you ever are too uncomfortable to answer, just tell me to move on and we can speak again when these two clowns aren't insistin' on being present, but let me reiterate how important it is that we get as much information as possible." Sydney nodded for him to continue.

Charlie Swan's eyes spoke volumes about who he was as a person. They were deep, compassionate, yet hardened from time. He had to have children, she thought, no one looks at others that way unless they're imagining their own children in the same position.

"Alright, when did you and Mr. Hancock meet?" Sydney took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, ready to face the line of questioning.

"About 3 years ago, I had moved down to Florida after traveling extensively and I was in desperate need of a job. I found one serving at a restaurant and he worked there as well."

"Were you romantically engaged soon after you met?"

Sydney saw Jacob shift in his seat in her peripheral vision.

"A few months after we met. I didn't date often because of how much I traveled. It never made sense to start a relationship if I would just be leaving anyways, but he was persistent. A few months after I moved to Florida, I had saved enough to go on a small trip and a few weeks after I came back, we started dating."

"How long after you started dating did you move in with him?" Charlie asked, writing down as fast as he could.

"Um, another few weeks after that." Jacob's hands were gripping the armrests and he cleared his throat. Charlie noticed too, and sent Jacob a warning look, Jacob nodded once and leaned back into his seat. "You have to understand, traveling so much, I was so poor" Sydney continued, "I had been living out of my mom's house while I was serving but she needed the space, so I moved in with Brice. In my mind, even though we were dating, he was more of a roommate at that point than anything else." Sydney explained.

Charlie nodded understandingly. "When did he start having violent tendencies towards you?" He asked with a gentle compassion.

Sydney's gut clenched instinctively. "Honestly, not until a few weeks ago." She felt Seth, Jacob, and Charlie's heads all snap towards her.

"Wait, he's done this before?!" Seth asked, reaching over to grab Sydney's hand. She looked over at him and nodded.

"Once." She answered before turning her gaze back towards Charlie. "When we first started dating, he was wonderful. We went out on these amazing dates, he bought me all these beautiful presents, treated me like a queen. I had never felt more…cherished." She explained, remembering the days when Brice had cared so deeply for her. "Then, as time went on, he became jealous and we fought over little things. I had chalked it up to moving in too quickly, we had only known each other a few months and here we were spending almost all of our time together." She took a breath, steeling herself for what was about to flow from her mouth. Things she had only ever told her mother and a nurse at the hospital in Florida that night.

"He became controlling, wanted to ensure he knew where I was at all hours of the day. The worst part was he wouldn't let me travel, he would hide my passport or my ID in the days preceding my trip so I couldn't go and would actually help me search the apartment for them, would try to cheer me up when we couldn't find them with a bottle of wine and flowers. I think I knew in my heart of hearts that it was him but I didn't want to believe he was capable of such things. I stopped talking to my friends and family because I was so embarrassed of the person I had become, I didn't want them to see me for who I had turned into."

Charlie stopped writing to look up at her and he looked pained, like he was putting something together in his mind from his own place of hurt, but nodded for her to continue.

"The last 3 months of our relationship were rough." Sydney began, "We fought almost constantly. When we were at work, if any man even looked in my direction, he would blame me. He had been doing cocaine for a few months and was trying to quit cold turkey and it was wreaking havoc on his mind and body and looking back, I think he took all that pain and suffering out on me. The night I left him, he had been drinking and was probably high. He wasn't in his right mind when he got home and I had started to talk about the idea of breaking up, he lost it. I had never seen him become that angry before and it happened in a second. His eyes…they just, glassed over and it was like the life had been taken from them. Like he wasn't in his body anymore." Sydney explained, remembering the night like it had been yesterday.

"You don't have to give details on that night if you're not up to it today." Chief Swan said and Sydney shook her head.

"Thank you but I want you to have the full story, I can talk about it now. He became physical that night and had left afterwards, I think he went to his friend's house, I had called an ambulance when I realized it had turned to morning and I was taken to a local hospital where they treated me for 2 broken ribs and contusions, I then-"

Sydney couldn't finish her sentence because Jacob and Seth were both standing now, chests heaving and staring towards a door that she assumed was where Brice was being held. Charlie jumped up from behind his desk and shouted, "Hey! If you two can't control yourselves then I suggest you head outside. Sydney is having to relive this and you're making it harder than it already is! Behave yourselves or get the hell out of my station!"

Sydney was taken aback at his outburst. In the couple weeks she had known Charlie Swan, he had never even looked like he could raise his voice. Jake and Seth took a few more steadying breaths before slowly sitting back down in their chairs. Seth instinctively reached over for Sydney's hand, which she took and Jacob resumed gripping the armrests with an anger that rivaled what Sydney was feeling inside.

"Sorry." Jacob said to Sydney sincerely and Sydney nodded her understanding. It was a lot of information to take in and she understood why they would be so angry. She took another breath before starting again.

"After I was discharged from the hospital, I had a few friends from work grab my stuff from the apartment and I booked a ticket to Seattle. It was the furthest I could get away from him barring moving to another country. A few days later, I flew out here, bought a car in Seattle, and started driving west. I happened to stop at the diner for a late lunch and now here I am." Sydney continued.

"But, he never stopped reaching out." Sydney explained, "I eventually had to change my number and get a new phone because he tried to contact me a few times a day. He didn't seem to understand that I had left. He apparently had broken into my mom's house to find out where I had gone and flew out here. When I saw him this morning, he seemed genuinely surprised that I wasn't happy to see him. The last thing I remember is telling him I wanted nothing to do with him and that I wanted him to leave me the hell alone. I think in his mind, he was rescuing me and bringing me back to the 'happy life' we had created together but that couldn't be further from the truth and when he realized that, he snapped."

Charlie finished writing and looked up at Sydney.

"Thank you for being so open and honest." He said, putting down his pen. "Now, we have to decide what we want to do from here. We can put out a restraining order that will be effective immediately so he can't come near you or contact you and I suggest you press charges for the attack." He explained, clasping his hands on his desk.

"I'll do the restraining order, but I don't know if I want to press charges, I don't want to have to deal with the court proceedings and honestly, I don't know that I could afford it. The restraining order will be enough for me." Sydney said after thinking for a moment.

"But he could do this to someone else." Seth interjected. "I think you should press charges." Sydney shook her head.

"I don't want to see him after today. I don't want to hear his name, I don't want him to even cross my mind. A court process would drag this out for months, maybe even years because it crossed state lines and I don't want to deal with it or him." She said with finality.

"Well, then we support you." Jake said, reaching over to grab Sydney's hand. She squeezed his and looked towards Charlie who nodded.

"Alright, well, I think I have all I need from you for right now. We'll get you to sign some paperwork for the restraining order and I'll take it from here." Charlie stated, shuffling papers around on his desk.

"What happens to him now?" Sydney asked quietly and Charlie glanced at the door behind his left shoulder.

"He'll be given the restraining order and we'll send him back to Florida after getting his statement." Charlie replied, "But you won't be seeing him, that I can promise you."

Sydney turned to Jacob and asked, "Will you take me back to the diner? I left pretty abruptly and I'd like to apologize to Madge." He smiled softly before saying, "Of course."

Sydney shook hands with Chief Swan and then after thinking about it for a moment, pulled him into a hug. Charlie was stunned for a moment by the action but returned the gesture after only a brief pause.

Jacob and Sydney headed towards the diner in Jacob's truck in silence, each wrapped entirely in their own thoughts.

"I'm so sorry." He said as they approached the parking lot. Sydney turned to look at him with a curious face.

"Why are you sorry when you've been nothing but helpful and kind. You have nothing to be sorry for." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder that was slumped over uncharacteristically.

"I didn't know how bad it was." He said solemnly. Sydney huffed and swatted his arm.

"That's because I didn't _want_ anyone to know, you idiot. It's not like I wanted to broadcast my past to all of my new neighbors. This was supposed to be a fresh start." She replied sassily and Jacob shrugged.

Sydney hopped out of his truck and walked towards the diner's front door. She actively ignored the spot in the mud where she had stood a few hours before, and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Madge was behind the counter and gasped when she saw Sydney. Sydney walked towards the kitchen as Madge fretted over her, asking her a question a second.

As they walked into the kitchen, Sydney turned to face Madge and wrapped her in a hug. "I came to say I'm sorry for that happening. I had no idea it would turn into such a mess and I'm sorry it happened in the parking lot of all places. I'm so embarrassed." Madge tutted her and returned the hug.

"Don't be ridiculous." Madge replied as they held each other, "I'm just glad you're okay, although, I do have to tell you, you look awful."

Sydney laughed and then immediately became self-conscious. She hadn't had the chance to look in a mirror since it all happened and she could only imagine what she looked like right now. "Well, I'm sorry anyways and I hope I still have a job." Sydney said, pulling away. Madge just rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do sweetie. Don't think for a second that that gave you an excuse to leave us. No, no. You're stuck here forever now." Sydney heard the kitchen door behind them open and saw Jacob leaning against the doorway, crossing his arms. "And apparently you've gained a body guard?" Madge asked jokingly nodding towards Jacob to which Jacob laughed and held up his hands in surrender.

"I'll see you Thursday?" Sydney asked and Madge waved her hand, dismissing her before pushing her way back into the dining area and resuming her work.

"Ready to go home?" Jacob asked and Sydney sighed, reveling in the sound of home. She couldn't wait to be in her own space, to let this horrid day fade away.

It was nearing sunset now, her entire Sunday had been stolen from her by Brice. As Jacob pulled into her driveway, Sydney smiled at the sight of her house. She was home. It had felt like decades instead of hours since she had been there.

Jacob followed behind her as she unlocked her door and let herself in, not waiting for permission. Sydney felt the wave of relief wash over her and all around her as soon as she stepped foot inside.

"Do you want to be alone?" Jacob asked her quietly, shaking her from her reverence. She looked over at him, he was leaning against the front door, his hands placed behind his back and he was looking down at the ground.

Sydney acted on the urge to walk over to him and placed her hands on his chest, forcing him to look into her eyes. "Thank you for everything you did and have done." Was all she said and he smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then." He said, cupping his hand around her face gently and she leaned into it, putting her hand over his and closing her eyes. "Tomorrow." She replied.

Jacob leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, his lips barely grazing her skin, and opened the front door, taking one last look at Sydney. "Goodnight Sydney." He said and ducked through the doorway.

Alone.  
She was alone.

She felt her shoulders slump forward on their own accord and she felt the stress that had manifested itself in her chest burst through her pores like a flood gate had been opened. She felt the exhaustion take over every nerve in her body and her head resumed its rhythmic pounding.

She shuffled to the bathroom to take a shower, hoping to drain away what she was feeling. She avoided looking in the mirror until she was completely undressed and as she glanced at herself she let out a hysterical bark of a laugh. She looked _awful._

Her light brown hair was matted and had clumps of dark mud dried in pieces all around her head. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, with bruises already starting beneath her eyes from her broken nose. The tape that was stretched across her nose was covering a small cut that rested at the bridge of her nose and there was dried blood caked underneath her nostrils. She stared at herself for what felt like entire minutes, as if cataloging each pore, each crevice on her face to memory.

She stepped into the shower and let the hot water burn her skin and watched as the mud fell from her hair in clumps. She gently washed her face, hoping to bring some life back into it. She took what felt like the longest, most therapeutic shower of her life, and stepped out feeling infinitely better.

After changing into her pajamas, she grabbed her phone and started a text to Ayana.

 _You could have at least told me I looked like death on a stick._

Ayana's reply chimed in almost immediately.

 _Ha! I guess the opportunity to tell you that you looked like shit just never came up. I'll keep it in mind for next time though._

Sydney giggled and put her phone down on the coffee table as she fell into the couch with a sigh. She couldn't wait to get to sleep all of the sudden, feeling the exhaustion take hold of her entire being. She groaned as she stood up and looked at the time at her phone. 6:54. She didn't care, it was time for bed.

She felt sleep overcome her as soon as she had brought the blankets around her, falling fast into a deep, dreamless sleep.

It felt like only minutes later she was awoken by loud, sharp knocks. She was disoriented as she looked around for the source of the noise and glanced at her phone. 3:42 am. She grabbed her head as the loud knocking continued and she got out from her bed, heading towards the front door. She was still half asleep as she peered through the window next to the door. She couldn't see who was at the door but she wanted the banging to stop, her head felt like it might split in two if it continued.

When she opened the door, her heart fell and panic consumed her in an instant.

Brice.

He looked worse than he had in the diner. There were cuts on his face and neck and he was still muddy from the parking lot. His clothes showcasing the dried bits scattered along his body. His left eye was swollen shut and was a deep purple, bordering on black. His chest was heaving, his fists clenched and his eyes were furious.

Suddenly more awake than she had ever been in her life she stammered out, "How did you find me?"

"Oh sweetie." He slurred out. He was drunk. How was he drunk? How did he find her? Where did he come from? Why didn't Chief Swan stop him? Questions were slamming their way through her mind, as she struggled to put herself together long enough to realize he was still in her doorway and she had to get away.

"You embarrassed me today." He said, his voice dripping with disdain and false sweetness that made Sydney's blood curdle. She tried to slam to door in his face but he put up a hand to stop it, moving faster than she thought possible. "Oh no, we're gonna have a chat, you and I. Mind if I come in?" He asked sarcastically, pushing her out of the way and stepping into her house.

She tried to run towards her bedroom to grab her phone but he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her close, taking a deep breath of her hair near her neck. Sydney froze.

"You know I don't like to be embarrassed, babe, and having a bunch of overgrown _teenagers_ take a few swings at me wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my day. But after I got this piece of paper that said I needed to stay away from you, I decided I needed a drink." He said, still holding her with his head buried in her shoulder. Sydney didn't dare to move. "So, I went down to the local bar and what would you know, the town drunk was a wealth of knowledge when it came to this shithole's gossip. Talked all about the new girl who had moved in right near the lumber yard, told me where I could find her, so I decided to go for a little walk. Figured your guard dogs wouldn't be able to interfere this time."

Brice turned Sydney towards him and dragged a finger along her jaw, and Sydney's breath caught in her throat. His eye that wasn't swollen shut looked like it was on fire, like he was burning from the inside out and she felt the dread creep up from her toes all the way to her fingers.

"You know I've only ever just wanted to be with you. Just you and I. Like we used to be." He whispered, staring at her lips and still dragging his finger back and forth along her jaw. Sydney didn't reply, couldn't reply. "Why did you have to make this so hard?" He asked, looking up to meet her eyes and Sydney had to turn her head and look away, his gaze was too intense. A wolf howled painfully, sounding like it was right behind her house and Sydney couldn't help but think 'that's exactly how I feel too, bud.'

Brice leaned down and kissed her neck gently and Sydney could feel her heart thudding in her veins. She didn't want this. She would never want that again. "Don't." Was all she could manage to say, the word getting caught in her lips and Brice froze instantly, his lips hovering over her neck.

"Don't?" He asked, his voice laced with fury. "Don't?!" He now yelled, grabbing onto her wrists tightly. "You're MINE." He yelled, spit flying from his mouth like a feral dog. Sydney clenched her hands into fists, ready to strike when the front door flew open so hard its top hinge popped off and flew across the room, hitting the bathroom door.

In the doorway stood a very naked Seth who looked like he could kill Brice. "Seth?!" Sydney strangled out, her chest flooding with emotions, relief being the most prominent.

Seth barely acknowledged her and made his way towards them, towering over them both and Sydney felt Brice use her wrists to pull her in front of himself as a shield then forced her arms behind her back.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Brice asked. Although Sydney could tell there was worry in his voice, he was doing a great job of hiding it behind the anger.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Seth said calmly, looking right over Sydney at Brice. "I thought we made it perfectly clear that you weren't to go near Sydney again."

"I've never been a good listener." Brice spat back. "And why are you naked? Are you and Sydney fucking? Is that what this is all about?" Brice wrenched Sydney's wrists painfully as he asked his questions and Sydney felt the rage bubble in her stomach. She looked at Seth, trying to get his attention but he seemed to not notice that she was in the room, his focus myopically on Brice.

Sydney got an idea and acted on it before she could doubt herself. She kicked her right leg backwards with as much force as she could, her heel connecting with Brice between his legs and the second his grip loosened, she wrenched free and flung herself away from him. In the same moment, Seth lunged forward and caught Brice's chin with his fist, Brice's head jerking unnaturally upwards with the force.

Sydney ran towards her front door and as she ran outside into the dim moonlight, she saw three wolves running towards her from the forest. The wolves were _enormous_ , and their ears were pulled back in anger. Sydney froze in panic. The wolves were running directly towards her but seemed to pause for a second when they spotted her. The one in the middle, a russet colored wolf that was the largest of the three, turned towards the other two wolves that were on either side of him before stepping hesitantly towards Sydney.

Sydney couldn't move. There were so many thoughts and emotions coursing through her that she couldn't feel anything anymore. She was looking directly at these horse-sized wolves and they just stared right back, they weren't attacking her, if anything, they almost seemed to be giving her time to adjust to their presence. _How strange._ She thought.

Sydney heard Seth yell from inside, "Jake, I still need your help." _Why is he calling for Jake?_ She wondered. The red and brown wolf's ears twitched and it bowed its head, still staring at Sydney. In the next moment, the wolf seemed to shudder violently and the air around it turned hazy as it's front paws reached forward in the air and Sydney took an involuntary step backwards.

As she watched in shock, skin seemed to protrude from the fur and snapped into place, a very naked man's body taking up the same space that had just been occupied by a wolf.

 _Jake._

Sydney's eyes grew wide and her breathing shallow as she watched the other two wolves follow suit turning into Paul and Quil.

Jake's face was etched with worry, guilt, remorse, and sadness. "Sydney, are you okay?" He asked, reaching for her and stepping towards her as she took another step backwards.

He stopped and dropped his arm to his side, looking defeated and said, "Go help Seth."

Paul and Quil jogged up her porch steps and ducked into her home. Sydney couldn't catch her breath and hadn't been able to take her eyes off Jake.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" She asked, breathless.

* * *

 **Author's Note: She knows about the wolves! I won't be able to update for a week because I'm going to Lake Tahoe for a while but I'll be back this weekend! Also, I'll probably be changing the rating to M after this chapter, so if you can't find it, that's probably why! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	9. Chapter 8

Songs for this chapter: "Stars" by Sam Airey, "Mother" by Bear's Den, "State of Grace-Acoustic Version" by Taylor Swift, and "Traveling Song" by Ryn Weaver.

* * *

"Syd, I can explain." Jake said quietly, taking a small step towards her and she felt her foot automatically take a step back in response.

It was too much. It was all too much. She was dreaming, she had to be. Things like that don't happen. Right?

Sydney could feel the throbbing in her head resume its rhythmic pounding and the emotions that were crashing into the walls of her chest were making her feel like her entire body was being careened through a storm.

Fear. Confusion. Panic. Pure, unadulterated exhaustion.

Sydney swayed slightly as the realization of just how tired she was hit her with a force unrivaled to anything she'd ever felt.

"Hey, I got you. Always do." Jake said and he stepped forward quickly to lend a stabilizing hand.

Sydney's mind seemed to clear just long enough for her to form words. "We'll talk about this later but I want him _out_." She said, pointing to her house.

"Seth, Paul, and Quil are taking care of it. Charlie should be here any second. Do you want to sit?" He asked gently, holding her hand as she swayed again. Sydney nodded and Jake led her back towards her house, clearing his throat as they walked through the front doorway.

Sydney looked around the small living room and saw all 3 men, all 3 very _naked_ men, circled around the limp and sprawled body of Brice.

"Is he dead?" Sydney asked emotionless.

Seth looked up at her and shook his head solemnly, his face etched with how much he wished it weren't the case.

"Boss, I still say we kill him. Gets rid of a whole mess of problems." Paul said, using his foot to move Brice's head so it was facing away from where Sydney and Jake stood.

"No." Jake said with force. "Charlie will be here any second, we'll figure it out then."

As the last words left his mouth, Sydney saw headlights beaming into the doorway, illuminating them. Chief Swan.

Charlie jumped out of the car and bounded up the porch stairs with a grace and agility that defied his age. His face, on the other hand, told the story of being woken up in the middle of the night from a deep sleep.

"Got here as soon as I could. What's goin' on?" He asked as he stepped around Jake and Sydney, who were still holding hands she realized, and the chief was apparently oblivious to Jake's nude figure.

"Seth." Jake said simply.

Seth shot Sydney an apologetic look before speaking. "I was patrolling the area and caught his scent near the bar, but when I headed that way, I realized he had already left and was coming straight for Sydney's house. I got here as soon as I could, I phased and came in here. When he saw I was here, he was using her as a shield, the coward, but Sydney here was able to free herself with a nice swift kick to the-uh-well, kicked him where the sun don't shine, and she ran out the door and I took care of the little shit." Seth looked down at Brice smugly but there was a deep hatred burning in his normally joyous and compassionate stare.

Sydney was watching this exchange happen, her brain scrambling to keep up. It took her a few moments before she turned to Chief Swan and frantically asked, "Wait! You know about...them...their...whatever the hell they are?!"

Her mind was conscious enough to suddenly panic. What the hell was going on in this town? She came here for a new life, not to be involved in some weird ass supernatural bullshit.

Chief Swan rubbed his forehead with his left hand and sighed deeply before looking at Sydney.

"I take it she knows?" He asked without breaking eye contact with her.

"She saw us phase." Jake replied softly, almost regretfully.

Chief Swan nodded then, "Yeah, I do. A few years back, I kept findin' these giant paw prints in the woods, heard howlin' real close to town, one night I was walkin' by my house and saw a couple of these giant wolves, an' after askin' too many questions, they finally told me what was goin' on. Still don' really understand it, if I'm bein' honest." He said, glancing towards the naked men.

They all just shrugged in unison.

"What are we doing about Brice and why the hell was he anywhere near my house?" Sydney asked after a few moments of silence.

Chief Swan snapped his focus towards the body on the ground, "I don' know how he got out, I'll have to talk to my deputy 'bout that, he was under strict orders to keep him at the station til mornin'. But, I'll take him there now and I'll take him to the airport as soon as I can find a flight. I'm sorry he got to ya."

Chief Swan's eyes found Sydney and she saw the same look she had seen at the station the night before. Sadness, a deep and bottomless sadness. "Boys, why don' ya take him to my car." He said, looking towards Paul and Quil, who nodded. Charlie held out a pair of handcuffs towards Paul who closed them on Brice's wrist with such force that Sydney swore she could hear the metal straining to accommodate his grasp.

"Sydney, I know this is a whole hell of a lot to take in, especially after the day you had yesterday, but I want you to know that I am real sorry that we let you down. I gave you my promise and I didn't keep it and I'll do my damndest to make sure you're safe from here on out." He said.

"As will we." Jake said from behind her.

Sydney sighed, feeling entirely too overwhelmed. "I appreciate the words, really I do but today has been a hell of a day and I'd really just like to go to bed." She said, the words coming out like molasses from behind her teeth, exhaustion seeping from her pores.

Charlie nodded, and looked up at Jake. "I'll leave ya to it then." He hooked his thumbs into his pants pockets and walked through her front door.

"I don't want to talk about this tonight. I have school in the morning." She said before Jake could speak. She glanced at the clock that sat above her oven 4:54am. "Well, so much for going back to sleep." She said sadly.

"Oh, you're not working tomorrow, no way in hell." Jake said, stepping in her line of vision. Sydney felt indignation rise up as fast as a flame.

"While I appreciate where you're coming from, it's my job, and I genuinely enjoy what I do. Do not tell me what I can and can't do." Sydney said, running her hands through her hair.

"I wasn't trying..." Jake trailed off. "Syd, you have two very black eyes, a broken nose, the kids are gonna ask questions, are you sure you want to deal with that in a few hours?" His voice was kind, and Sydney looked towards her bed longingly before sighing again, the flame of indignation suddenly a bed of cool embers.

"Fine. Let me make some phone calls." She said after mulling it over for what felt like an eternity, heading towards her kitchen. Jake held up his hands.

"I'll take care of it, you get some sleep. I'll tell them as little as possible but I should warn you now, people will talk about it and I can't stop them and for that, I'm so sorry."

Sydney nodded, she knew it was coming, it was such a small town but there was still a tiny part of her that remained hopeful that it would all just go away.

"Syd?" He asked and she realized he had been talking, his gaze was concerned and filled with care.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just...it's too much." She admitted, looking up at him and he nodded understandingly.

"We won't talk about it tonight, but I would like the chance to explain...whenever you're ready." It was then she realized with a sudden fierceness that he was still naked, very, _very_ naked.

Her gaze slipped slowly from his face down to the broad expanse of his chest, his russet colored skin taut over his muscles, down to the unrealistic set of abs that seem to protrude from him as tiny little mountains and down further still, and she felt her mouth open slightly, he was so...holy shit.

She could feel him watching her staring at him and she snapped her focus back to his face and she saw that he was smiling with such smugness that it broke her free of any previous thoughts.

"Not a date." He said, winking and she could feel the blush creeping from her neck up to flame her cheeks and she shook her head in agreement.

"Why don't you head to bed and I'll take care of calling the school?" He said and she cocked her head slightly to the side, afraid to ask what she so desperately wanted to.

"I don't know if I want to be alone." She stammered out, "will you stay?"

He crossed the room towards her in one stride and hugged her, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Of course. Let me just talk to the guys outside for a sec, head to bed and I'll lock up." He said into her hair, and she nodded into his chest.

"Maybe put on some clothes?" She joked before he let out a soft laugh and walked towards the front door.

She turned and grabbed her extra blanket and a pillow from her bed and set it on the couch, patting it while lost in thought and then trudged back to her bed.

She basically fell into the warm comfort of the oasis the bed provided and wrapped her arms around the pillow beneath her head.

She was asleep before another thought could even cross her consciousness.

Sydney woke to what sounded like a grating chainsaw coming from her living room. She looked around her room and saw that small peeks of light were filtering through her window and she grabbed her phone. 10:23am. She set it back down on the nightstand before turning on her side and looking out of her bedroom door towards the living room.

She could see Jake's feet dangling off the end of the couch, his arm flung over the other side's armrest. He was entirely too large for that couch.

She paused a moment, thinking, convincing then unconvincing herself.

She could invite him in here. He'd be more comfortable and she was honestly wanting him close. But she shouldn't. She had just gotten out of a relationship, it was too much. Especially after the last two days.

After what felt like minutes deliberating with herself internally, she had convinced herself to bring him in here, she could always blame it on the concussion.

She went to put her feet on the floor and saw that Jake was standing in her doorway with his arms crossed with a T-shirt on and sweatpants.

"You're thinking so hard you woke me up." He said easily. She blushed, knowing it was too close to the truth.

"I, uh, well, I was going to see if you wanted to come sleep in here, it'd be more comfortable." She replied lamely, staring intently on a spot on the wall above his head, not wanting to look at him.

"All you had to do was ask!" He said with a breeze in his voice and crossed over to her bed, plopping down at the end by her feet. "Scoot over." He said with a wink.

Sydney rolled her eyes and muttered her grumblings under her breath while sliding her body to the side closest to the window, suddenly rethinking her decision.

Jake laid down, his limbs still too long to be comfortable and put his hands behind his head and turned his head towards Sydney.

"You feelin' okay?" He asked, his eyes cataloguing her face. Sydney laid back on the pillow and nodded with a small smile.

"Still just sleepy." She admitted. He held out his left arm, inviting her closer.

She hesitated, not wanting to cross any lines. _Too late for that_ , she thought to herself and placed her head in his chest and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Why the hell are you so hot?" She asked as soon as her skin made contact with his, pulling away from him slightly.

"Why, Ms. Delahunt, thank you. I've worked very hard to achieve this level of attractiveness." He said with a false bravado, like an announcer on a commercial. Sydney huffed and smacked his chest which made a resounding thud.

"Shut up and go to sleep before I change my mind and kick you out." She said laying her head back down.

He squeezed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Sydney was asleep in moments.

Sydney's eyes fluttered for a moment against the brazen light that was shining directly onto her face. It took a moment for reality to set in, for her to remember. She slowly turned her head, expecting to see Jake and bracing herself and as she did she found herself face to face with an empty pillow.

She couldn't help but notice her disappointment at the sight before she let her confusion get the best of her. She sat up slowly, her head feeling four sizes too big and stretched her arms above her head. She heard low humming coming from her kitchen and she couldn't help the smile that crept into her lips.

Sydney stepped slowly out of her bedroom door and outright ogled the sight before her.

Jake, all 6'7" of broad, beautiful, muscled Jake was standing in her kitchen and cooking. He was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt that hugged him in all the best ways, the muscles in his arms flexing with each small movement. His jeans were slung low, accentuating his long legs. His long hair was twisted into a braid that rested between his sculpted shoulder blades and his bare feet were striking out from his jeans onto her floor.

"You're thinking too loud again." He said without even glancing in her direction. She stiffened at getting caught and let out a laugh.

"Whatcha makin'?" She asked, walking towards him, trying to batten down the blush that seemed to be omnipresent when he was around.

"Well, it started off as an omelet but I missed that 3 second window between omelet and scrambled eggs, so we're having scrambled eggs." He looked down towards her with a smile lighting up his face. Sydney just stared, in awe of how much light just exuded from him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, flipping the concoction in the pan. Sydney silently gauged her health and let out a hum.

"A solid 6.3 out of 10." She mused, opening the fridge to get juice.

"Better then?" He asked and she hummed her agreement.

"How'd you sleep?" Sydney asked, setting the table.

"Better than I have in months, to be honest." Sydney felt her cheeks flare up again and then got frustrated for feeling like such a teenager.

"What did the school say?" She asked as they sat down to eat. Jake shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth and chewed twice before swallowing.

"That they hope you feel better and to take the next two days off, they want you to heal, Kim will be covering your class until you get back so they'll be in good hands." He smiled then, showing off his gorgeous teeth and Sydney smiled back.

"Thank you." She said simply before eating her breakfast with a voracity that she didn't realize she possessed. As she finished her plate, a memory seared itself into her brain and she froze, clutching her fork. She needed answers to what she had seen last night. It didn't make sense. People didn't just turn into wolves for god's sake, it wasn't a normal thing to do. She took a few shallow breaths, letting the air fill her lungs and she felt calm rain down on her with each breath.

"What _are_ you?" She asked quietly, making Jacob also freeze with his fork halfway to his mouth. He put it back down on the plate and took a long gulp of the orange juice before turning his huge body towards hers.

"I, and my pack, are shape shifters. Our tribe, the Quileute's are descended from wolves, there are legends that explain the history much better than I will be able to but I can tell you what life is like for me." Sydney nodded silently, not sure of how she felt.

"I first turned when I was 16, there were only a few of us then. I didn't know what was happening, I didn't know how to stop it. The first phase is the hardest, it's like your entire body is being broken to accommodate the wolf, and when the wolf appears, it's so disorienting that it takes us a while to phase back. Sam was the first one to phase and he had a hell of a time trying to understand what was happening. When I first phased, there was 5 of us, there's 12 now. We're all connected through what we call pack-mind but is what is usually thought of as telepathy." He was staring at Sydney, trying to gauge her reaction and Sydney realized she didn't have one, she was intently listening but hadn't formed opinions yet.

"That must be...disorienting. Can you hear everyone's thoughts all the time?" He nodded and took a bite of food.

"When we were younger, it was hell. We couldn't control what we let others see and try to imagine 7 teenaged boys' minds broadcasting every thought for the whole pack to see." He smirked at the memory and ate another bite. Sydney let out a soft laugh through her nose, imagining.

"Now though, we're able to only let the pack see what we need or want them to."

"What caused you to...phase...in the first place?" She asked.

Jake took a few breaths, still looking at her. "I need you to understand that the world you live in has more to it than you thought." Sydney rolled her eyes.

"I just saw 3 large men turn into equally large wolves in my yard, what else is there?" She asked sarcastically.

"Sydney, the reason we phased in the first place, the reason we exist...we hunt vampires."

Sydney dropped her fork loudly, the metal clanging against the ceramic plate. " _What_?"

"There was a coven of vampires that lived in Forks, they referred to themselves as the Cullens, they attended the high school in town, pretended to be human, one of them even worked at the hospital. Because they were so close in proximity to the rez, it triggered a dormant gene. That's why we phased." He explained and Sydney's mind raced.

Everything in her wanted to refute it, wanted to pretend like he was lying. But she had seen him, had seen what he was, what he is. _Vampires? Giant wolves? What else is there?_

"Where is the coven now? Did they hurt anyone?" She asked.

"They left about 8 years ago. They brought a girl who lived in town with them and she hasn't been seen since…Her name was Bella Swan."

"Swan as in Charlie Swan?" She asked, her eyes growing painfully wide. Jacob nodded and looked out the small window above her sink. Sydney knew Chief Swam had to have had a child, no wonder he was taking her case so personally, he was probably imagining Bella as her, abused and beaten or something entirely worse.

"Is she..." Sydney started, not knowing how to finish her question. Dead? A vampire?

"She married one of them. Moved away with them years ago. I can only assume they changed her to become like them, we don't know because no one has seen her or heard from her since. Charlie has been trying to track her down for years but with no luck. It's been killing him." Jake said it with such passivity that Sydney was taken aback.

"Did you know her?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Thought I did. Thought we were friends. But when she chose that life...I didn't want to be any part of it. She chose a life of being condemned to a facade of an existence." Sydney took a deep breath, processing the onslaught of information.

"Okay so let me see if I've got it, you are a part of a pack of shape-shifting wolves that hunt vampires?" Jacob nodded, a smile curving the corner of his lip upward but it didn't bring light to his eyes like his smiles normally did.

Sydney nodded and put her head into her hands on the table.

"I know it's a lot...trust me I know, but know that you can walk away from this. All of this… if you wanted. We would just need you to keep our secret." Sydney let out a bark of a laugh and pulled her head up from her hands.

"It's not like anyone would believe me even if I did say something. But Jake, please know that I won't tell anyone. And I don't want to walk away. I'm happy here. I like it here. I like the life I'm choosing to lead here. I love my job and those kids and I love the sense of community. So there's some giant wolves running around the woods? Every town has got somethin', right?" She said sarcastically and Jacob smiled.

"You're taking this really well." He said and grabbed her empty plate and dumped them in the sink.

"I'm still concussed, I think a part of me is hoping that it's the concussion talking and I'll wake up from a nap and it won't be real." She half joked then she remembered details that she had put in the back of her mind.

"Wait a second! You guys patrol, right? Like, watch over people?" She asked and Jacob nodded slowly, wondering where this was going. "I've been seeing flashes of things in the woods, like streaks of silver fur that I thought I was imagining, I swear I saw your wolf one time in the woods just behind here." She said, gesturing towards the small kitchen window. Jake smiled at her, his back to the sink.

"That would be us. Apparently, we need to work on our ability to hide if you were able to spot us so many times. Although, I do recall seeing a certain time through the pack-mind when you got _out of your car and yelled at us_ " He said, laughing.

"I thought I was going crazy, I needed to yell at something." She said, waving her hand.

"Maybe think about what you're yelling at before you go making idle threats." He said and started washing the plates. "What do you say about a shitty movie marathon?" He asked suddenly, his back turned to her.

"That'd be great but I don't have a TV." She said before finishing off her orange juice.

"We'll just head over to my place then. You can't get rid of me that easy." He said, turned to her, winked and returned to washing the dishes.

"I'll go get comfortable clothes then." She said, standing up slowly.

"That's the spirit!" He yelled as she walked away and she winced, his loud voice reverberating within her skull.

She walked into her room and changed into a sweater and yoga pants, tying her hair into braided pigtails.

"Okay, I'm comfortable and ready." She said as she walked back into the living room.

Jacob was sitting on the couch and stood up to face her. His face twisted in anger for the briefest of moments, a flash so quick that Sydney thought she had imagined it before he said, "you look beautiful." She rolled her eyes and pointed between her eyes, highlighting her black eyes and healing nose.

"Stop the flattery and let's get going." She said and began locking up her house. Jacob walked out into the unusually bright, sunny day and held open the passenger door of his truck.

"When did you get your truck?" She asked, confused.

"This morning after you asked me to stay, I had to run home and drop Kyra off with Emily, then I put on clothes because _someone_ requested that I do and I drove back." He explained as she stepped up into the truck, holding his hand.

He shut the door, looking at Sydney through the window with a smile that knocked the breath from her lungs. She put all of her discernible effort into tearing her eyes away from him and staring through the windshield.

They drove in silence with the windows rolled halfway down, a breeze blowing through the cab and the sunshine filtering through, illuminating them in a glow.

Sydney let herself sink into the moment, trying to imagine her stress and worries from the past few days flutter into the breeze that was filling the truck with fresh air. She couldn't believe the amount that she had been through in the past few weeks, her mind was reeling trying to comprehend it all. And here she was, riding in a truck with a man who turned into a damn wolf.

 _At least he's hot._ She thought to herself and smirked, sneaking a glance towards him as he drove the winding road towards the reservation, the ocean crashing into the cliffs next to them. Sydney saw his gaze flicker to meet hers and saw the slow smile that crept onto his face. Neither of them said anything, they just enjoyed the moment, letting it warm them from the inside out.

The next week passed idly; the beginning of the week, she and Jake spent every day together, whether they were watching movies at his house, or he was teaching her how to change her own oil in her car, or she read aloud to him in her living room while he lay sprawled on the floor. By Thursday, Sydney found herself back in her classroom, her eyes now a coverable-with-makeup dark yellow instead of blue and her heart swelled when she saw that her students had each made her a get well soon art piece, complete with scribbled inscriptions that said things like "thank you", "we missed you", "we love you" and the one that made her cry, "please don't leave us again."

Sydney had settled into her routine again when she got confirmation from Chief Swan that Brice had been detained by Florida authorities as soon as he had landed. She felt relieved but there was still a tiny part of her that mourned the loss of so much time, she had lost years of her life chained to that pathetic excuse of a man and she had every intention of making up for it as much as she could.

She started hiking in the woods near her house, looking for solace in exploring the forest that had called to her that first day she drove through, trying to find a place to plant new roots. She would get lost, revel in the vast expanse of the lush greenery around her. Her thoughts were quiet when she was surrounded by those trees, she felt like she could truly breathe.

Sometimes, she could swear she would see a peek of red fur in the distance, sticking out from the vibrant greens and browns that decorated the forest around her. She would usually say a quiet, "Hey Jake" before continuing on. She thought about what Jacob meant to her, about where she wanted things to go with him. She knew she felt more than she should when it came to Jacob Black, but there was a pull towards him that she couldn't describe or put into words even in her own head. Whatever it was, she cared about him and truly wanted what was best for him and Kyra, even if that meant it wasn't her.

That Saturday she was to meet Jacob's dad, Billy Black and she had woken up that morning indescribably nervous. He was a tribe Elder; she knew that his opinion of her mattered greatly both in her professional life because she taught at the reservation's school and her personal life.

"Would you please relax?! You're freaking me out." Kim said, exasperated as Sydney was chopping apples for a strudel they were making with such a frenetic energy that the apple chunks were almost unusable because they were so tiny.

"I can't help it!" She whispered back, afraid that the guys might hear them even though they were all outside. "What if he doesn't like me? What if he doesn't like me and I lose my job? Or what if he likes me but doesn't think I'm good enough to be with Jacob? I don't do well meeting parents!" Sydney was rambling and Kim just smirked.

"You're worried that he'll think you're not good enough for Jake, huh? Since when does that matter?" She asked with a grin and Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Oh shut up. You're not helping. Just tell me something comforting." Sydney said, turning her attention back to the mangled apples.

"Sydney, seriously, relax. He'll love you. You're being stupid and you're overthinking this." Kim stated with arrogance and an air of annoyance. Sydney took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "And now's the time to prove my point, here they come." Sydney turned towards the front door and saw Jake rolling an older man in a wheelchair towards her, picking the chair up over the stairs with ease. _Stupid super strength_ , she thought.

The front screen smacked open and Jake was looking at Sydney with a smile dancing on his lips. "Dad, I'd like you to meet Sydney Delahunt. She's Kyra's new teacher and someone who has become very important to me." Sydney was caught by surprise at the introduction, it was so…not what she had expected.

Sydney extended her arm and looked at Billy, "Nice to meet you, sir." She said, looking into his eyes, the same deep chocolate eyes that Jake had.

He shook her hand and said, "No sir's, too formal, just call me Billy. I've heard quite a lot about you. Seems you've made an impression on both Jacob and Kyra." Sydney smiled at Billy before looking up at Jacob with a blush coloring her chest. "Why don't you and I go talk in the living room?" Billy said and started rolling towards the adjoining room.

"No need to sound so cryptic, Dad." Jake said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking towards his father rolling away. "He just wants to tell you some of the history of the pack and answer any questions you might have." Jake said, turning towards Sydney. She nodded and went to go follow after Billy when Jake held his arm out, blocking her path.

He pulled her into his arms as he had done every day since he had spent the morning in her bed. They held onto each other for a moment, neither speaking, and as Sydney pulled away, Jake leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek that lingered a few seconds.

Sydney's heart felt like it had been restarted, she could feel it fluttering through its next few heartbeats in one fail swoop and an unconscious smile erupted on her face. She looked up at him, really looked at him. Stared into his eyes and tried to read whatever those expressive eyes were trying to tell her. He just smiled that exuberant smile and squeezed her arm before turning back towards the kitchen.

It took Sydney a second before she could find her voice. "Not a date!" She shouted after him and heard his beautiful laughter booming through the walls.


	10. Chapter 9

The song I'll be refrencing in the beginning of the chapter is actually "A Celtic Heart" by Russ Landau, it's an exceptionally beautiful song and I highly recommend checking it out while reading. The other songs for this chapter are "Tus Pies" by Nahko and Medicine for the People, "Sweeter Place" by Svrcina, and "Spirit Bird" by Xavier Rudd.

* * *

There was a beautiful song being sung close by, the tinkling voice echoing through Sydney's mind, filtering through her hazy consciousness. The song didn't consist of words but rather letters construed in clumps that created a beautiful noise, an ancient tune that she didn't know but felt viscerally connected to, like her soul was finding solace in the melody. The rise and fall of this voice was in tune with the breaths that came from Sydney's chest bringing an inordinate sense of balance.

Sydney let the words flow around her, let them wrap themselves into her hair, let them sink into her skin and let them permeate her mind. She slowly became increasingly aware of her surroundings as the song continued, creating a soundtrack for her mind. At first, it was just touch. She knew she was lying on a couch, the fabric worn thin and soft from use, the air around her was chilled and stagnant but there was a distant warmth coming from the corner of the room. Next, it was sound. She could hear this voice, could feel that voice, but there were others. Tinny, small voices coming from far away. Low tones and higher tones matching, speaking in a rhythm like a dance.

Sydney slowly opened her eyes, took in what was around her. She was in Sam and Emily's living room and had apparently fallen asleep on the couch. There was a small fire burning in the fireplace in the corner and there were children scattered around the room, all sleeping in varying displays of comfort.

Little Anna, Emily and Sam's daughter, was curled into a ball at Sydney's feet with a small pillow under her head and a blanket wrapping her like a burrito. Her mouth was slack open and she seemed to be sleeping deeply. Kenai, Brayden, and Will were on the adjacent couch, stretched out over each other like they had fallen asleep halfway through wrestling each other for the best spot. Little Kyra Black was sleeping the recliner, her head resting on the armrest and Tobey was squished in next to her, looking the least comfortable out of all of them but was sleeping hard regardless, a line of drool had dried white on his cheek.

The voice was still seeping through the air and Sydney turned her head slowly from its spot on the armrest towards the kitchen and saw Shea, Embry's wife, sitting at the table tucked in the corner working on some sort of crotched blanket while the melody flowed from her lips like honey. Sydney couldn't help but stare as she sang, completely entranced by the woman and in awe of the talent she possessed.

She noticed after a few moments that Embry was standing in the other corner of the kitchen silently admiring his wife, a smile on his face that spoke of unrequited and deep love. Sydney couldn't help but stare at Embry then, admiring the purely incredible love that exuded from him. As if Embry could feel her staring, he glanced in her direction for a second and put a finger to his lips as if saying, "shh" and then looked back towards his wife with a look on his face that showed he was as transfixed as Sydney felt.

She sang for a few more moments, and it was as if time stood still as she finished. The last note escaped from her lips and she just took a deep breath, entranced in the work her hands were doing. Sydney watched from her spot in the living room as Embry silently crossed the room and wrapped his caramel colored arms around her from behind, surprising her and a contented sigh fell from her lips. She just leaned into him, it looked so…natural, like they were made for each other.

Sydney tore her eyes away, feeling blissfully happy for the love shared by her newfound friends but also alarmingly aware that no man had ever felt that way towards her and probably never would. She let them have a few seconds of privacy before starting her slow ascent into a seated position which proved rather difficult, Anna was tangled between Sydney's legs and she didn't want to wake the child. She maneuvered out of the entrapment and padded cautiously towards the kitchen.

"Shea, your voice…" Sydney started to whisper and Shea's hand flew to her mouth.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" She asked concernedly to which Sydney felt her eyebrow raise in confusion.

"No, not at all, I was just going to say you have the most remarkable voice I've honestly ever heard." She gushed, placing a hand on Shea's and she blushed, looking up at Embry.

"I told you, babe." He lamented, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I've been telling her that for years but she refuses to listen." He rolled his eyes dramatically and Sydney laughed.

"That's because you're married to me, you _have_ to tell me things like that or else I would leave." She joked and Embry just kissed the top of her head.

The front screen creaked open and Rachel and Kim walked in chatting away.

"Oh! You're up!" Kim said smiling brightly at Sydney.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Sydney replied and everyone flicked their wrists at her, telling her not to worry about it.

"It was funny watching the kids around you. One second they were hyper, jumping all around and the next minute, you were nodding off and they all seemed to follow suit within seconds. It's like you're a child whisperer or something, so, we're definitely keeping you around for that super power because momma needs a nap too." Rachel said, holding her hand over her swollen belly.

"Anytime you need me, I guess I can manage to take a few naps, it's the least I can do." Sydney joked.

Quil laid his head against the screen, squishing his face into a distorted shape, his lips flaring around his teeth.

"The shhun iss shhhhining, come outssssside." He said through the screen, his lips not moving, causing the sentence to come out mangled and everyone in the kitchen laughed.

"We're being summoned, apparently." Shea said flatly and pushed back from her chair. "Let's not keep the poor kid waiting, shall we?" She offered her arm to Sydney who took it with a smile and they pushed the screen open to join the rest of the group outside.

"She's arisen!" Jared called from the other side of the yard, holding his beer up in a cheer. Sydney let out a snort through her nose, which was still slightly painful and she blushed but the heckling didn't stop there. It seemed like every member of the pack threw a jest her way by the time she had walked the 20 yards to join the group.

"I hope I didn't bore ya too much." Billy chided, rolling his wheelchair through the grass slowly to rest beside Sydney.

"No! Not at all, it was all so fascinating and I learned a lot." She responded quickly, wanting to make sure he understood just how appreciative she was that she was let in on the tribe's secrets. "I think my body is still trying to play catch up though." She finished with a shrug and Billy nodded, grabbing her hand into his.

"You mustn't blame yourself dear, what happened to ya, well, it's a damn shame, but you did the best ya could." He said, his voice low. Sydney took a deep breath and looked out the direction Billy was staring, watching the scene in front of them unfold. She didn't feel like she needed to continue the conversation. She had talked about the past week enough, she had been asked about how she was feeling more times than she could count and she was so tired of getting looked at like a broken little bird. As if reading her mind, Billy spoke again, "The people will find somethin' new to yammer on about in due time. Jus' keep on holdin' that head up." Sydney smiled towards Billy who just nodded resolutely and they kept their hands encircled around each other and watched as the pack seemed to orbit around each other, joking and laughing and smiling with grins that seemed to burst from their faces.

"Thanks for telling me the legends. The stories helped bring together a lot of the pieces that were missing in my mind. I still don't know how to feel about it all, but seeing them all together, it just…it just makes sense." Sydney said quietly, being completely open with the man. He didn't respond and they just watched.

After a few minutes, Jacob strode over to them, his long legs carrying him gainfully and with such ease and confidence it took Sydney's breath away.

"I can only assume you two are gossiping the way you're starin' at all of us." He smiled with his gleaming white teeth that stood out so distinctly from his copper toned skin.

"Well, I guess you'll never know then." Billy joked, rolling forward to run over Jake but he just moved deftly out of the way. "I'm gonna go talk to your sister. Sue's been tellin' her to take it easy for weeks and she, of course, hasn't been listenin'. Maybe she'll listen to her old man." Billy and Jake laughed together robustly, as if in on a joke.

"Hey, I talked to Emily about you helping out with some of our outreach stuff and she's really excited about it, if you're still interested. I know there's a lot of people who could learn a few things from you and if you have any effect on them like you did with your class, you may put me out of my job." Jacob said easily, standing next to Sydney, his shape towering over her tall frame.

"I'm definitely still interested. I want to learn as much as I can about this tribe and it's people." She replied, looking up at him, placing a hand over her brow to block the sun from her eyes.

"Sure sure." He just said. "We're going over to the community center tomorrow, you're welcome to join. We'll be doing some life skills training like how to build a resume and how to pay bills. Not the most exciting stuff but always important."

"I'll be there."

The rest of the afternoon passed lazily, joy flowing from every soul there, filling up Sydney's craving heart. She felt free from the confines she had been placed in for so long, she felt like the world was coming together to provide her this safe space to exist in. For fleeting moments, she would forget about the fact that they were wolves that hunted vampires for a living. For fleeting moments, it was just like any other backyard get together in a small town.

But then there would be the small reminders that would bring her back down to reality. Someone coming from the woods, pulling on clothes as they passed the tree line as someone else would walk towards them stripping theirs off, trading places. Patrol. Small exchanges with Jacob to update him, Sydney surmised, to which he always tersely nodded and then went about his business as if nothing had happened, the ever-controlled leader.

It was fascinating to watch Jacob. It was like the entire pack gravitated towards him, like they were drawn to him. She knew he was Alpha but it was so blatantly obvious now that she aware of it. They all seemed to need his attention, even if it was just for brief moments, and he was a natural leader. He was effortless in hid interactions, like it was second nature and he never monopolized his time with anyone in particular, seeming to know where everyone was at all times, even the kids, as if he was connected to them too.

Sydney found herself watching him for a while without realizing it before Seth came up next to her. "See anything you like?" He teased and Sydney laughed.

"Shut up Seth." She chided, trying to hide her blushing face behind her beer bottle while she took a sip. "He just…commands attention almost." She added seriously and Seth cocked his head to the side, as if looking at Jacob for the first time.

"Yeah, I guess he does." He responded. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I ever caught a leech?" Sydney shook her head and looked up at Seth who was smiling from the corner of his mouth. "Jake and I were on patrol, Sam was still Alpha back then. I had to only be 15 at the time and my dad had just passed. I was an emotional wreck which made for a really chaotic pack-mind and Jake was the only one who could really get me to calm down. We were running near the national park when I smelled it and it was pure instinct to just _run_. Everything else fell to the wayside, it was just the hunt in my mind. I chased her down, it had been a nomad from somewhere in Canada, and I ran up to her, ready to kill when I froze. It looked so much like a…person, like any girl from town. I couldn't do it. Jake talked me through the whole thing without missing a beat. He knew exactly what to say, knew exactly what I needed to hear. It's like he had a sixth sense about it all and he let me handle it on my own. He knew exactly which tools I needed and handed them to me before stepping back so I could take care of it. He never felt the need to step in and do it for me, which I appreciated." He took a long sip of his beer, looking towards the woods. "He's a good guy. And he cares. Especially about you." He finished, smirking down at Sydney.

The night sky quickly enveloped them, after kids had worn themselves out running in circles and playing games that had no rules and made no sense, after a loud dinner had been eaten in the yard, no one wanting to leave the sunshine. Sydney was walking into the house to say her goodbyes and make plans for the next day when she heard small sniffling coming from the side of the porch.

Everyone else was inside, some putting leftovers into Tupperware, some watching a game on tv, some chatting idly in the kitchen. Sydney walked up to the figure and squatted down to see Kyra hiding her face in her knees.

"Hey there, what's going on?" She asked gently, sitting down next to her. Kyra lifted her face to meet Sydney's and the sadness that pooled in the normally vibrant eyes of that child made her heart squeeze.

"It's nothin' Miss Delahunt." She sniffed, fisting away her tears and pushing her hair back from her face sloppily.

"It doesn't really look like nothing but I don't want to push you. Just know that I'm always here to talk or if you even just need a hug, okay?" Sydney said, combing her fingers through the girl's long black hair. Kyra nodded and reached her arms out. Sydney scooped the girl into her lap and started softly singing a song her mother used to sing to her when she was upset.

" _Go to sleep you little baby, go to sleep you little baby, your momma's gone away but your daddy's gonna stay, didn't leave nobody but the baby. Don't you weep pretty baby, don't you weep pretty baby, she's long gone with her red shoes on, you're gonna need another love, baby…"_

Kyra started crying fully then, hiccupping into a sob that startled Sydney.

"Oh sweetie…is my singing really that bad?" She asked pulling Kyra closer to her and Kyra shook her head fast, her breathing studded with big, heaving sobs.

"My…momma…she…doesn't love….me." Each word was punctuated with a ragged breath, her tears seeping through Sydney's shirt and Sydney could feel her heart being ripped out of her chest at the openness Kyra was showing and the absolute desolation she was feeling.

"I'm sure your mom loves you so, so much. She might just have a different way of showing it." Truthfully, Sydney had never heard neither Kyra nor Jacob speak of Kyra's mother and she had no idea what role she played in their lives. She didn't know her name, where she lived, what she looked like, let alone how she felt about her daughter. Sydney just knew this little girl was in a world of pain and heartbreak and to have a child that vibrant and beautifully loving be that dejected was an absolute travesty.

Kyra burrowed her head into Sydney's shoulder and Sydney heard the screen door creak quietly open. She looked up to see Jacob staring at them with a devastated, heartbroken look that made Sydney feel like her heart might shatter if she looked at him too long. The love he had for his daughter was etched into his face and it was shocking how much he conveyed with the sadness he wore like a mask. Sydney gave him a half smile and squeezed Kyra tightly before pulling her back so she could look into her eyes.

"Kyra, I want you to hear me. Your mom loves you. Your dad loves you. Uncle Seth loves you. Aunt Emily loves you. All of your cousins and your family and your friends and your tribe, they all love you _so so much._ And you know who else loves you?" Sydney asked, wiping the tears from Kyra's wet cheeks and the little girl shook her head, catching her breath. Sydney smiled and said, "I love you. A whole bunch. More than I love flowers and more than I love the color green and more than I love the way rain smells and more than trees and more than puppies and more than all the stars in the sky." Kyra searched Sydney's face and Sydney just smiled as warmly as she felt, giving every ounce of joy she carried to this little girl. Kyra cracked the smallest smile before flinging her arms around Sydney's neck.

"Thanks Miss Delahunt." She mumbled into Sydney's neck and Sydney sat there, with her feet tucked underneath her and the most beautiful child in her arms. She soaked in the moment, letting it heal her as much as she wanted to heal the hurt in Kyra.

"Kyra…"Jacob whispered after a few minutes and Kyra jerked her head up.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed and ran over to Jacob as he knelt down and picked her up with such ferocious love and adoration. He clutched onto the girl and she held onto him like he was a lifeline. His eyes were closed as he rocked them back and forth and Sydney stood slowly. Jacob opened his eyes and met Sydney's and he seemed to be asking and telling so much with his eyes.

Things like Thank you and I'm sorry and What do I do and How do I keep doing this and She needs a mother and Where do I go from here and Help and Stay. The last word seared through Sydney's mind as their eyes stayed locked on one another's. Stay.

The crisp night air swirled around them and the breeze seemed to create a symphony in the trees, rustling the leaves and pines and whistling against the bark as they just stood there for a few moments, neither daring to move.

A dog barking a few houses away snapped Sydney from her trance and she blinked a few times, regaining her composure and Jake did too, still holding tightly onto Kyra.

"Get her home safe." Sydney said, touching Kyra's back as she walked past them. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jake." She walked down the porch stairs towards her parked car.

"Syd." He called after her and she turned and saw a sight that her heart wasn't ready for.

Jacob was holding Kyra, the soft, warm light from the house was cast all around them, illuminating them in a way that looked other-worldly. Jacob, with his broad shoulders that carried the weight of an entire population of people, numerous families, traditions, and the safety of his only child. Their form created a silhouette and the house was sprawled from behind them, the night sky punctuated with tiny stars acted as a dark curtain behind the house. She realized a second later why she couldn't catch her breath.

That's what she wanted her future to look like. Them. Home.

He didn't say anything more, but just smiled such an exquisitely gentle smile that seemed to say, "I've finally found you." Sydney's heart felt like it was in her throat and she had to turn away, the sight was too precious, too beautiful, too much.

She got into her car and took a steadying breath, letting her brain whir from the overuse in the last 2 minutes alone.

Them. Home.

She started her car and made her way onto the winding road back to her house, her mind so focused elsewhere that she barely remembered the drive. Her phone chimed as she unlocked her front door.

 _Goodnight Sydney. Sweet dreams._

The next morning Sydney made her way back to the reservation to meet Emily at the community center. It was a small building with light blue painted clapboards and white trim. It was on the west side of the reservation and as she walked inside, there were rooms lining each wing to her left and right and there was a desk in the middle of the room she initially walked into.

"Hi, my name is Sydney Delahunt, I'm supposed to be meeting with Emily Uley?" She said to the younger receptionist who was typing on her phone fasting than Sydney thought possible. The young girl didn't even glance up, she just jerked her head towards the door behind her and kept typing. "Thanks." Sydney said, stepping around the desk.

She found Emily setting up a fairly bare room with a few tables scattered around the room, mismatched chairs surrounding them, she was placing different pamphlets on different tables.

"Sydney! You came!" Emily exclaimed and came over to hug Sydney.

"Of course! What are we doing today?" Sydney asked, grabbing the other stack of pamphlets to help.

"Today is a few different things. So, let's see, we'll have tutoring at that table, this table will be for resume building and interview skills, and then that table in the corner is the freebie table where we'll be giving out coupons for the grocery store, diapers and bottles for the moms, condoms, and toiletries." Emily said, gesturing around the room as she spoke.

"I can go set up the freebie table." Sydney offered and Emily smiled and nodded her head.

"How are we lookin'?" Sam asked as he, Quil and Jared walked into the room. Sydney looked up at them to realize two things. One, the way Sam looked at Emily was as if the sun itself was standing in front of him. All of the love and adoration that had ever been experienced on this earth was projected onto his face when he took one look at Emily. It was astounding. They had been married for years and he still looked at her like that. Two, Sydney noticed Jacob wasn't with them and she was…disappointed.

"Sydney is gonna set up the freebie table but you guys can start getting all the supplies out for the rest of the tables." Emily directed and the men immediately set into action.

Everyone was in a good mood, the clear day yesterday had left them all in good spirits as they prepared the room. As the time for them to open came up, they were all so distracted from their game of "How long until he notices" that they were playing on Quil, throwing tiny scraps of paper onto his head, taping paper to his back, and whatever else they thought they could get away with that Sydney didn't even notice Jacob, Collin and Michael standing at the far side of the room, watching silently with grins on their faces.

She was straightening the last of the supplies on her table, her back to the rest of the room when she was suddenly being lifted off her feet into a bone-crushing and excessively warm hug. She let out a startled gasp but when she realized who it was, she hugged back, trying to match his ferocity.

"Hey." She whispered into his shirt and he let out a small snort into her hair. "Hey yourself." He replied.

"Now that we're all uncomfortable, let's let in the masses, shall we?" Quil said sarcastically, tiny flakes of paper littering his ponytail and various signs taped to his back. Sydney stifled a laugh as she looked him over and he caught her eye, his face going from smug to confused in an instant.

"What?" Quil asked but he was interrupted by the door opening and about 15 teenagers walking into the small room. Sydney's attention was immediately stolen by the kids. They were all so young but they looked…tired, defeated, angry? She couldn't find the right word to describe the look that decorated their faces. She stood next to her table and smiled warmly.

"You guys know the drill. Tutoring, job skills and then freebies before you leave." Emily called out and was answered by a small grumbling. The teens made their way to the other two tables as Emily sidled over to where Sydney was standing. "I was hoping you could help with the tutoring?" She asked kindly and Sydney nodded enthusiastically. She may be out of her element when it came to teenagers but teaching is what she knew how to do best.

Sydney walked over to the tutoring table as they pulled out various pieces of paper, homework, and textbooks.

"Hey, can you help me with math?" One taller boy asked. His face was riddled with acne scars and his eyes were deep set into his face but he had a bright smile that seemed to want to come out.

"Definitely, let's give it a shot." Sydney responded, pulling up a chair next to him. For the next couple hours, she helped almost all of the teens with something, whether it was math homework, making their resume more readable, rewording job applications so they were more likely to get the job, whatever they needed. She was constantly aware of where Jacob was in the room and he exuded an air of stability and trust with the kids. They were drawn to him, unconsciously following him if he walked somewhere else and they listened with rapt attention when he spoke. Sydney found herself getting caught up in the words that poured from his mouth like honey more than once and had to make an effort not to stare at him. _Not the time, not appropriate._ She had to remind herself.

She was reading a story aloud to a couple girls that they had been assigned but didn't have the reading level they needed to actually get through the book when Sydney noticed that everyone had fallen silent. They were all listening to her read. She faltered for a second, losing her place at the realization but picked back up without trying to be too obvious.

"' _Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness, he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme."_ Sydney read from the book, "Things Fall Apart" and she realized as she read that much of what she was reading out loud probably spoke truth and kinship into the lives around her presently. It spoke of finding comradery with the people around you, it spoke of the hardships imposed by aggressive European missionaries, and, Sydney realized, it spoke of living a life trying to be true to where you came from while still being your own person, much like the teenagers in the room with her were trying to do.

Sydney finished the chapter and closed the book, looking up to see Emily looking around the room with pride and joy splayed across her face. She was seeing what Sydney had felt, they had connected to the story and were realizing things about themselves that couldn't be taught to them, it had to be learned on their own accord. "Freebie table is all yours." Emily announced, breaking the moment of silence. The group all pushed back from their chairs, creating a cacophony of screeching metal that made Sydney wince slightly.

"They really liked you." Michael said as he walked up to Sydney. Michael was the youngest in the pack, Sydney knew, but he still looked like he was approaching 28, not 19. He had longer hair than most of the pack, he had told her that he hadn't cut it since he was a small child and it was a point of pride for him. He usually wore it in two braids on either side of his head and he was lankier than the rest of the men and even Ayana. Michael had bragged at one of their gatherings that his wolf was the fastest because of it.

"I really enjoyed being here. You guys do this every week?" Sydney asked as she started to pick up papers that had been left behind. Michael nodded, "We all switch off but we try to be here as often as we can, be good role models. I know I benefited a lot from these when I was younger, gave me people to look up to instead of my not-so-great old man, so I try to be here every week." He nodded slightly in the direction of Sam and Jacob who were talking to a couple of the male teens in the corner, looking very serious and their voices hushed.

"Some of them are starting to show signs." Michael whispered so low that Sydney had barely heard him but she nodded. "Jacob and Sam are just trying to prepare them without actually telling them anything. It can be a terrible experience if you're not ready for it." He continued, "But, those two try to make it as easy as possible." Sydney half smiled, her heart twisting for the teens that she had spent the last couple of hours with, knowing what lay ahead for them. Granted, she didn't know everything there was to know about the pack and their lives but everyone had been very open and honest about their experiences and from what she had gathered, the first phase was excruciatingly painful and terrifying.

They all finished cleaning up and had reset the room back to normal when Jacob walked towards Sydney and her heart leapt. "Hey." She said, smiling up at him and he returned the smile ten-fold.

"If you're not doing anything, maybe we could grab some lunch?" He asked with a slight tilt to his head.

Sydney's smile dropped. "As much as I would like that, I have to go work at the diner." Jacob nodded, looking slightly disappointed so Sydney powered on, "But you all are welcome to go eat there, I'll see what I can do about a discount, seeing as you'll probably eat us out of house and home." She finished with a smirk. He let out a loud laugh and looked back to where everywhere was standing, watching them.

"You guys wanna go hit the diner?" He asked and everyone nodded their agreement and started gathering their belongings.

"Whose watching all the kids?" Sydney asked as she grabbed her purse from a cabinet.

"Whoever doesn't come here or isn't on patrol is on babysitting duty, so we have Paul, Jared, Seth, Ayana, and Brady babysitting and Embry is out on patrol." He answered as they walked out of the clapboard structure and into the ever-present light rain that had started. They stopped at her car and she turned towards his warm body.

"See you soon?" She asked and he grinned, the white teeth peeking their way through his lips. "Definitely." He said simply and leaned down, kissing her cheek lightly before pulling away slowly.

Her heart yammered against her ribs and her breath got caught in her throat. Without thinking, she reached up and grabbed his neck, pulling him back towards her and she kissed him softly on his lips. It started off as just a gentle peck but she felt like her body was on fire; her brain was firing off colors and sounds that she felt she couldn't even comprehend and she reached her fingers into his hair that was held tightly by a ponytail and she deepened the kiss. He followed suit, grabbing her waist and pulling her in tightly, hard. She opened her mouth to him, feeling his tongue tracing along her teeth.

Sydney couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't think. And just like that, it ended. His mouth ever so slowly pulled away from hers and she felt him place tiny kisses on her lips then one more on her cheek. She sighed and opened her eyes.

"I'll see you soon." He whispered as he placed one last kiss on her forehead. She smiled and nodded, getting into her car. He closed the door after she was safely in and he placed his huge hand on the window next to her. She put up hers as a mirror image and they took a second to just stare at each other.

A short howl from the woods broke them from their reverie and he nodded curtly at her before turning away and running towards the cry. She shook her head and laughed. "Well holy shit." She mumbled to herself and started the car.

 _So much for not jumping into things._ She groaned internally. Was she ready for something like this? Was she prepared to take on all that came with him? The pack? Kyra? Was she ready to completely submerge herself in the supernatural?

As much as she wanted to over think what had happened, a larger part of her just wanted to enjoy it. A beautiful, caring, wonderful, and downright _hot_ man had just kissed her in the rain. She smiled and leaned her head against her head rest as she drove back to her house to change.

The diner was crowded for its small space. The after-church crowd had come in full force and Sydney was running to tables as fast as she could, helping Madge get patrons out so they could open up more tables.

"I didn't even realize this many people lived in Forks!" Sydney joked to Madge as she waited for another pot of coffee to brew, they had made 7 in the last half hour. Madge just huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Probably wanted to see you, sweetie. See how you were doin', the nosy bastards." Madge took off with coffee pots in both hands and menus tucked under her arm to greet the table that had just sat down. Madge had been so understanding of Sydney's situation. She hadn't pressed for any more details and had been the first to stop asking "how are you _feeling?"_ when Sydney had disclosed how much it bothered her when people asked. Madge had given her some sense of privacy and she was more than appreciative of it.

Sydney also knew that Madge was a straight shooter, that's why her comment didn't surprise her. Madge had told her that people had been asking after her, especially when Sydney wasn't there and Madge had told them all to "find somethin' new to titter to each other about." Sydney smiled at the memory and turned towards the bar to take orders.

She caught sight of 4 very tall men standing in the doorway and she waved, feeling a blush burn her cheeks. The sight of Jacob had triggered her memory of the kiss and she could feel the obnoxious smile that lit up her face. "There's a table for you in the corner, better hurry though, I've been having to fight people off to keep it for you." She said over the heads of the patrons and Jacob waved his thanks and led the group to the table.

Sydney took care of the other tables and made her way over to the pack's table with menus in hand.

"…understand that and we'll discuss it later." Sam was finishing saying as Sydney walked up.

"Hey Sydney!" Collin said a bit too enthusiastically. "You guys are really busy!"

"Yeah, it's the church crowd, they'll clear out in a few minutes though. You guys know what you want?" She asked putting the menus down and grabbing her notepad.

"So, we'll honestly take 4 of everything on the menu, except all the salads and that stupid garden burger." Sam said with his hands in a guilty shrug. Sydney laughed and shook her head.

"You're lucky I told Joe you guys were coming." She said, tucking her notepad back into her jeans. "Any drinks?"

"Coke." Jacob.  
"Coke." Michael.  
"Coffee." Sam.  
"Chocolate Milk." Collin.

Sydney gathered 4 of each of their drinks and was walking back to the table when one of the older residents who was sitting at the bar stopped her. "Careful not to get involved with those Indians." He grumbled and Sydney stopped in her tracks.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, confused. She rested the tray of drinks on her shoulder, the weight pressing into her as her brow furrowed.

"Just be careful who ya associate with 'round these parts young lady." He continued. His trucker hat that had to be at least 30 years old shielded his eyes and his flannel was worn thin.

"I appreciate your concern, but they happen to be incredible friends of mine and I don't know that I can tolerate you talking about them in such a degrading way, sir." She responded. She had no tolerance for people who judged others based solely on their race, no matter how small a town this was, there was no excuse. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She adjusted the tray back onto her wrist and made her way to their table where they were all looking at her with surprised expressions.

"I take it you heard all of that with your weird super ears." She said, placing the tray on the table. They shrugged and all started grabbing their cups except for Jacob who just mouthed a silent "thanks."

She waved her hand, dismissing the thought and said with a wink, "I'll tell Joe to start up the extra fryer."

True to form, they each ate one of everything on the menu barring any vegetables. The diner had cleared out of all customers except the town gossips, the old fishermen who sat at the bar sipping on coffee, by the time they finished eating and Sydney had pulled up a chair to the table as they swapped stories and joked around. Madge had even joined them for a while, telling the pack stories of their fathers from when she was younger that caused the men to double over in laughter.

"And that's why Billy Black is banned from Anne's coffee shop." She had finished saying when the door chimed. They all turned and saw Seth and Jared standing in the doorway, looking stressed.

"Well, that was a wonderful lunch but we better get going." Jacob said and stood up, stretching his long limbs and the 3 others followed suit.

"I'll get the bill and meet you guys out there." Sam said and smiled tersely at Sydney. Something was wrong. They never acted this way.

"Let's get you checked out." Sydney said quickly rising to her feet. He paid and scribbled something to her on the check.

"Read it when you leave to go home." He whispered quietly and placed a steady hand on her shoulder, meeting her eyes for a moment before nodding as he turned to walk out the door, the bell chiming behind him. She was so tempted to read it then and there but shoved it in her back pocket and busied herself for the rest of her shift, trying to make the time pass faster.

After the dinner rush, which ended fairly early, Madge sent Sydney home with an envelope stuffed with crumpled bills. "Made decent money today." She had said but Sydney was so antsy to get going that she barely muttered a goodbye to Madge.

Once in the parking lot, her shoes squishing into the mud and the light rain puttering against her jacket, she pulled the check out of her pocket and read it.

 _Go straight home. Don't stop for anyone or anything. Jake will call later to explain._

Sydney stopped walking for a second to take in what it said. _What's going on?_ Her mind seemed to be yelling but she pushed the thought aside and got into her car.

She drove home, the wiper blades swishing back and forth quickly and the light reflecting off the raindrops that were falling faster and faster. She pulled into her driveway and saw two eyes staring back at her from the tree line. Wolf.

She hopped out of her car and ran through the ran to her front door, waving to the wolf who was apparently playing guard dog as she unlocked her door, stepping inside. She shrugged off her jacket and shook the water from her hair. She made her way to the kitchen, dropping her purse on the small table and put on some water for tea, wanting to calm down her nerves.

She was leaning against her kitchen counter, staring at the front door completely lost in thought when her phone's ring startled her so much she spilled some of her tea on the ground. She fumbled around in her purse for a second before pulling out the trilling device.

"Hello?"  
"Sydney? Are you okay?" Jacob asked, sounding out of breath.  
"I'm fine. I'm at my house. Are _you_ okay?"  
"Yeah yeah, just having to deal with some pack stuff. I just wanted to give you a heads up that there will probably be a wolf patrolling by your house tonight, is that okay?"  
Sydney didn't know what to say. "Uh, yeah that's fine, I guess? Should I be concerned?"  
"Nah, one of the newer wolves thought something was wrong which sent everyone into a panic. So it's best that they all just run out that extra energy."  
"Okay…well, be safe." Sydney said lamely, not sure what else to say.  
"You do the same, beautiful." He said quietly. "And know that I haven't been able to stop thinking about that kiss." Sydney smiled and held the phone with both hands, as if she could make him appear through the phone.  
"Me neither." Silence. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She finally asked.  
"Sure sure. I better get back. Good night and sweet dreams, Syd." He replied.  
"Night Jacob."

Despite his reassurances, Sydney couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. But what was it?

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks so much for all the reviews, they make me so so happy.


	11. Chapter 10

Songs: "A closeness" by Dermot Kennedy, "Is There Somewhere" by Halsey, "Vor i Vaglaskogi" by Kaleo, "Lord Almighty" by Dirtwire.

* * *

Sydney woke up to the sound of her alarm on Monday morning, squawking its terrible song into the quiet air. She groaned and rolled over into her pillow, cradling it around her face wanting just a few more hours' worth of sleep. She hadn't slept well at all and she wasn't ready to face the day quite yet. She sighed deeply and rolled out of bed, getting her morning routine started.

As she drove to the reservation, her phone began ringing. "Hey Ms. Delahunt, its Principal Redwood, I was wondering if you could take over Seth Clearwater's class as well as your own today, he isn't feeling well and needs some coverage. We can get a sub but it's kind of last minute. I'll send Kim Cameron over to help too." Sydney knew there was something weird going on and now her Monday was going to turn into juggling her class of 7 and 8 year old's as well as Seth's class of 6 year old's. _Here we go._ She thought to herself as she pulled into the parking lot of the school.

Her mind was getting thrown in so many different directions. She was worried about the pack, confused about what was going on, mentally exhausted from the past few weeks and she honestly just really wanted a nap and maybe some ice cream. She took a deep breath and pushed open her car door.

Kim was just walking in as well and Sydney resisted the urge to ask what was going on that had everyone on edge, but Kim looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep either, so she would wait to ask until later.

"Ready for today?" Kim said brightly, despite the bags under her eyes telling a different story.

"I think I'm ready for a couple more cups of coffee then I'll be ready." Sydney joked, opening the door to her classroom and holding it open for Kim.

"So, what if we just combined all the students into one room and we did games, movies, art, story time, that kind of stuff?" Kim suggested, pulling her long hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

"What if we switched on and off? I don't want any of the kids to miss out on class work, so we could keep them in their respective classes but you and I can switch back and forth. I'll teach one subject to one class while you're doing an activity with the other class and then we can switch. They'll only get through a few subjects but it won't be a total wash of a day?" Sydney suggested as well. Kim nodded with appreciation.

"That sounds perfect. I'll start getting some stuff together if you want to dig out Seth's lesson plans in his desk." Kim said, setting out towards the organized mecca of the arts and crafts supplies.

The day passed with so much activity and chaos and such a beautiful joy. Sydney tried to make her lessons as engaging as she could while Kim was running around in circles trying to run different activities and she was flourishing.

There were 10 minutes left in the day when Kim and Sydney had gathered both classes in Sydney's room and Sydney was reading them a story out loud. Kim was quietly cleaning up the ravaged supplies and the students were listening with rapt attention.

She was reading a story called "As Fast As Words Could Fly" and it was about a young boy growing up in the Civil Rights Movement era, it spoke of the hardships a young black boy faced but how he used his skill of typing and creating beautiful imagery through words that he was able to be recognized for something other than his skin color. Sydney had purposefully chosen books to read aloud to her class that would inspire, spark questions, incite self-reflection. She wanted them all to know that just because the world may try to oppress them, didn't mean that they should let the world take from them what is rightfully theirs. She wanted to show them how strong they were, how smart they were, how incredibly talented they were.

As she finished the story, the final bell rang, signaling their day had come to a close. Kim and Sydney both shared a look that said _finally_.

Little Kyra had been exceptionally quiet all day, fighting the urge to sleep for hours. "Hey sweetie, is your dad coming to pick you up today?" Sydney asked, getting down on one knee so she was eye level with the child. Kyra just shook her head.

"Daddy has…" She glanced around the classroom and seeing that it was empty, whispered, "pack stuff." Sydney nodded in understanding and offered her hand to Kyra. "I'm gonna go home with Aunt Kim." Kyra pointed to Kim, who was finishing cleaning the room.

"You don't have to do that, you've done so much already." Sydney groaned to Kim, looking at how spotless everything was. "But thank you, Kim, for everything today. I could not have even thought about accomplishing everything we did." Kim just smiled and shrugged.

"Happy to help, Syd. Alright Kyra, what do you say we go pick up the rest of the kids and head out?" Kim asked sweetly, but Sydney could see it was all a façade. A very tired, overwhelmed woman lay behind the mask she was wearing firmly in place.

"Mind if I tag along and hang out with the kiddos more?" Sydney offered, swinging Kyra's hand in her own. Kim sighed deeply and looked gratefully at Sydney. "We would _love_ that." She uttered.

After they had picked up the rest of the pack members' children, they all started walking to Emily's house. It was a long walk but there were just too many kids to fit into Kim and Sydney's cars. Sydney tried to make the time go by faster by having races, playing red light green light, jumping into puddles with kids on her back shrieking in delight. Everyone, it seemed, was worried and she wanted to inject as much happiness and comfort into the day as she could.

By the time they all made it to Emily's, they were all covered in mud and smiling from ear to ear, Kim and Sydney included. Emily was standing on the porch, holding Kaya, their youngest daughter, who was passed out in Emily's arms. When she saw the troupe walking up to the house, she burst into giggles.

"What on earth happened here?" She asked, one hand covering her mouth. All at once, everyone turned and pointed to Sydney who pretended to be shocked and offended. Emily just waved her hand, "I'm gonna go grab the hose and then we'll worry about changing afterwards." The idea of the cold hose water didn't sound appealing, the day outside was chilly and residually wet from the rain that morning.

As the hosing down began, amidst the giggling, the shrieking and the running for cover, they saw a large wolf jog past the house in the tree line and the wolf let out what seemed like a chuckle, his tongue flopping out and his chest heaving. They had to be quite the sight.

After they had all been deemed clean by Emily, who was having entirely too much fun spraying them down, they made their way inside to change into warmer clothes. Emily had offered some clothes to Sydney who was entirely grateful for them. She took a second to herself in the bathroom, composing herself and plastering a smile onto her lips before swinging the door open and rejoining the group.

Despite the smile that spread across her face, Sydney couldn't shake the feeling of dread, like there was something going terribly wrong but she didn't know what it was. She didn't want to impose of the business of the pack but she found herself genuinely worrying about Jacob. And not just him, the whole group. What were they doing? What was going on? When would they be back? Were they okay?

As the night started to settle in around them, Sydney realized she had no way to get back to her car at the school that didn't involve walking all the way back in the dark.

"Hey, is there any way I could catch a ride with someone back to my car? I should probably get to bed before school tomorrow." Sydney said as they put the last little one to sleep. They had created a fort inside one of the bedrooms, pillows and blankets and mattresses thrown onto the floor and everyone was sleeping all together.

"Yeah, I can give you a ride back to your car." Rachel chimed in. She had arrived around dinner and looked as tired as Kim and Emily did. After saying her goodbyes to the other girls, she hopped into the truck. They drove back in silence, both lost in their own thoughts before Rachel finally broke. "It's hard not to be worried." She whispered and Sydney turned to face her in her seat.

"It's just been so long since something like this has happened, I thought it was all behind us. I thought, maybe, we would be _normal. Finally._ " She sighed.

"I don't mean to pry, but what _is_ happening?" Sydney asked quietly, holding her hands in her lap.

Rachel glanced at Sydney sadly, before looking back towards the road. They were almost to the school. She didn't answer at first, just drove. When she pulled alongside Sydney's silver SUV, she looked at Sydney again. "Vampires." She stated simply.

Sydney felt her throat clench against her will, fought the urge to panic. She nodded, somewhat erratically and they both just sat there…neither moving. After a few moments, Sydney went to grab her bag from the floorboards. "How bad is it?" She asked quietly again.

Rachel shrugged. "We haven't heard from them since this morning. I just know Paul got a phone call around 4 this morning and they've been gone since. Collin is stationed at the rez and he's been doing loops of all the houses. He phased back around noon to tell us that they were somewhere near Canada and that everyone was fine. But that was the last we heard from them." Rachel was picking at the steering wheel that was falling apart at the top, tiny pieces of black leather crumbling off into her hands.

Sydney reached out and touched Rachel's shoulder. "They'll be fine. This is what they're made for, right?" She was trying to sound confident, reassuring, but it ended up sounding more like a pleading question than anything else. Rachel gave a half smile and nodded. Sydney slung her bag onto her shoulder and opened the door.

"Collin and Embry will be doing a loop near your house too, so don't freak out if you see them running around." Rachel said flatly. Sydney nodded.

"Things will be fine." Sydney replied, looking into Rachel's eyes, trying to send as much strength as she could into that gaze.

"I sure as hell hope so. Paul better not leave me alone with the boys, I'll bring him back to life solely so I can kill him." Rachel replied, her spunk peeking its way through. Sydney snorted and waved before closing the door.

 _Be safe out there Jacob._ She thought to herself as she climbed into her car, the headlights casting an eerie glow into the woods next to the school.

 **Jake's POV**

Jacob woke to a shrill ringing sound coming from his night stand. "God damn it." He muttered, looking at the clock as he reached for his phone. 4:12am.

"What?" He rasped into the phone, his voice a deep bass.

"You need to get out here boss." Paul spoke into the phone with such an acidic tone that Jacob immediately woke up.

"What is it?" Jacob asked as he went into Kyra's room.

"Ayana caught a scent 30 miles north but it's not just one, we think it's a whole coven and they're headed our way." Paul said quickly, snarling wolves could be heard in the background. _God damn it._ He thought to himself.

"Whoever is not already out there, call them, I'll drop Kyra off at Sam's and I'll be there in a minute." Jacob said, shouldering the phone up against his ear and picking up Kyra into his arms. He paused a second before uttering his next words, "Even Leah."

"Got it." Paul said and hung up. Jacob let the phone into Kyra's lap and he ran out the front door. He hadn't asked Leah to phase in months. There was a whole backstory there, she was living out in Seattle now with a guy she had been dating for a while, but he needed her. The pack needed more reinforcement.

"Daddy?" Kyra sleepily mumbled, twisting her hands into his tank top.

"Hey sweetie, I have to take you to Aunt Emily's for a sleepover, I'll be back soon." He whispered to her as he ran as fast as he could towards Sam's cottage. Kyra just nestled deeper into his arms as he ran, probably used to it after all the close calls over the years.

Emily was waiting on the front porch with her arms outstretched, "I got her." She said simply, and Jacob carefully deposited the most important thing in his life into Emily's waiting arms with a quick kiss to his daughter's forehead. He had phased not 3 seconds later.

The pack mind was chaos, reminiscent of the days when they had first phased. Thoughts and memories and locations and feelings were being broadcast in all directions and Jacob's wolf had to close his eyes for a moment to try to grasp his bearings.

 _Everyone settle down. Remember that we've been training for this for years._ He Alpha commanded and a blissful silence responded.  
 _Ayana, where are you and do you have sights on any of them?_ Jake asked.  
Ayana projected what she was seeing into the pack mind, letting her location be known, _I saw a few flashes here and there but I haven't been able to keep a lock on them. I'm following their scent trail though._ Ayana said, her thoughts focused and determined.  
 _I want Embry, Seth, Quil, and Collin to stay back and set up a defensive front around the rez, if they're headed our way we'll shepherd them straight to you. Michael, I want you to do a perimeter around Forks then meet us on the east flank. The rest of us, head towards where Ayana is, but I want at least 500 yards between each of us. Understood?_

There was a focused chorus of "yes" that echoed through Jacob's mind. His wolf was jacked up, thrilled for a hunt after so long, thrilled to be giving directives like he should be and to feel his pack just as amped as he was, his adrenaline spiked even higher still. Jacob let that fire course through him, sent it out to his pack mates, let them feel the raw power that was pumping through his blood. They needed to be strong, they needed to remain calm, and they needed to remember their training.

 _On the left_  
 _Got sight  
3 Females, 3 Males  
Heading South, I'm looping around_

The pack's thoughts were staccato and short, they didn't need to be any longer. Jacob was running as fast as he could while trying to sort through 12 different mental images of where everyone was. It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle of who was where and who was doing what and who needed to act first. His wolf was preening at the chance to rip something apart _finally_ as he ran, the paws pounding into the soft earth, the sickly smell infiltrated his nose so abruptly that he could feel the claws protruding further from him, ready for the kill. Vampire.

But what struck him was he recognized that smell.

The fucking Cullens.

Jacob involuntarily let out a grating snarl from his chest and he could feel the anger and confusion seep into the pack mind from everyone.

 _Why are they here  
What do they want  
Who are they  
Let's kill them_

Jacob thought for a fraction of a second before answering, _If they don't stop running in the next minute or make a move to tell us why the hell they're here, kill them. Kill them all._

No sooner had he said the words had two of the bloodsuckers stopped and grasped each other's hands as if nothing was the matter. Jacob could feel the hatred and animosity boil within him, the human part of him realized that they wanted to talk but his wolf could only sense the vampire, only wanted to shred them into ribbons. His mind was doing an innumerable amount of calculations, planning both defensive and offensive strategies.

 _Embry, Seth and Quil, get here now._ He thought, showing them where they were located and heard the agreement coming from the 3 that were patrolling the rez. _Michael, stay near Forks and the rez with Collin but be ready to get here as fast as you can when I say the word.  
Got it_.

Jacob thought through who was where and what he needed to be ready to implement. He had Sam, Paul, Ayana, Brady, and Jared here with him ready to go. He would utilize Paul's sheer aggressiveness and Sam's brute strength to make the front-line attack while Brady and Ayana could come in on a secondary attack, flanking them. Jacob could jump the scene and use the large tree directly behind the leeches to kick off of and come at them from behind while Brady and Jared could come in from the sides.

Then when Embry, Seth, and Quil got here, which would be in a minute and 43 seconds, they would take out whatever was left.

If the leeches attacked first, they would assemble in their defensive position, Ayana, Brady, Jared creating a secondary 'V' behind the primary defense consisting of the more seasoned wolves. He tried to make the plans as concise and precise as possible before sending it out to the pack. The formulation of reality settling into their minds, the wolves around Jacob seemed to become instantly more agitated, snarling white foam from their giant jaws, their paws driving into the ground.

Jacob watched as more of the Cullen's joined the other two, who looked completely unphased by the display. He racked his brain trying to remember names but he couldn't, there was the pixie looking one, the emotion guy, blondie, the buff dude. As the last two, holding hands, walked up, a snarl ripped from his lips, a grating growl that Jacob felt from the core of his being. Edward and Bella.

Bella had been turned, her golden eyes a stark contrast to her seemingly translucent face. Her hair was the same chestnut brown that Jacob had dreamt of for years after she had left. Except this time, she wasn't a dream. She was standing right in front of him.

And she was a fucking vampire. He could feel the hatred well up inside him, a white-hot fury that resonated in the deepest parts of himself, parts he didn't even know existed. She had chosen _this?_

For a moment, no one moved, no one spoke, no one breathed, hell, even the wolves' thoughts were eerily silent.

"Jacob." Bella said in a voice that sounded familiar but…wrong. To human ears, it probably sounded like magic but to Jacob's wolf it was grating, like there was a nail being dragged across a chalkboard that lined her throat. "I wanted to talk to you." She continued. Jacob's wolf was furious, it wouldn't be controlled when there were so many lives to protect from _them._ He had to think about Kyra now, and the pack's children, Rachel was pregnant for god's sake, and Sydney…he felt so guilty that he had dragged her into this world. She was such a light in his life and in Kyra's, he wouldn't put any of them in danger by allowing them any further.

Jacob could feel his giant lupine head shake back and forth.

"Jacob, Bella wanted to visit her father now that she isn't in danger of hurting him anymore. We were hoping to come to an understanding so that she may be able to visit him." Edward said, stepping forward.

Jacob's disgust of the creatures rolled off him in waves. His ridiculous bouffant hair seemingly glowing in the moonlight. He looked concerned but it was just a mask he wore, they didn't feel emotions. Jacob shook his head again, a growl grinding against his chest. How could they even ask that of the pack? Putting Charlie in danger like that was selfish, but then again, Bella was nothing if not selfish…

"I understand your hesitation, but Bella's thirst is well under control. In fact, she never drank from humans." Edward looked at Bella with a face that beamed with pride and Jacob could sense the disgust and confusion coming from the pack. "She just wants to see her father happy and healthy, Jacob, surely you can understand that."

It took everything in Jacob's power not to rip his throat out in that instant. This…thing was seriously talking about the tireless years that he had spent taking care of his father, the heartache and frustration that came hand in hand with taking care of your parent when there was no money to be had, his mother's life insurance money had long run dry and Billy's hospital visits cost more and more each year. This thing was trying to garner sympathy through comparing their fathers? Bella had no idea how hurt Charlie was, how desperate, how broken he had become in the years passed.

Hell, even when Sydney had been going through everything with that worthless piece of shit, Jacob had seen the way Charlie had compared her situation to what might have happened to Bella in his mind, saw when Charlie thought no one was looking and had broken down in the parking lot after seeing Sydney with her black eyes and broken nose, Jacob could only imagine what Carlie had imagined. Edward had always been borderline abusive and it didn't take a genius to draw your own conclusions about where Bella had ended up.

Sure, Charlie knew about the wolves, but he didn't know about the vampires or the fact that his daughter had been dating one and was now married to one.

Bella had no fucking idea how much devastation she had left behind in her selfishness. And Edward? Edward could go fuck himself. Jacob saw that Embry, Seth, and Quil had joined silently and were near the outer edges of the group.

"Jacob, please, I miss him. I miss you….us." Bella said softly, her head tilting slightly to the side. Jacob let out a snarl that ripped through the air. He didn't have the patience for this bull shit.

 _Paul, phase and tell them they either get the fuck out of here or we kill them. Those are their options and we aren't compromising. Tell her that Charlie is better off thinking she's dead than knowing the truth, that she made her choice and she has to live with the consequences. He's part of our family now, not hers._ Jacob thought, even his thoughts were seething with anger and resentment.

Paul phased quickly and never the one to miss an opportunity, stretched his arms above his head, letting his body show itself off. He flexed his hands, and tilted his head side to side, cracking the joints in his neck before speaking. The bloodsuckers all tensed, the blonde one and the buff guy crouching down, ready to strike.

"As elected spokesperson for the pack, we would like to tell you to kindly fuck off. You're not welcome here. If you so choose to proceed with your sadistic trip down memory lane, we will kill you and we will enjoy it thoroughly." He looked down at his fingernails, inspecting them with a curiosity before turning his head listlessly to Bella. "And Bella" He said her name with such disdain that Jacob saw her brow flicker in true confusion, "Charlie wants no part of your life now. You made your choice years ago and you get to live out your twisted fantasy but Charlie will be no part of it. He's under our protection and if you even attempt to contact him, we will kill you." The other bloodsuckers crouched down as if preparing for a fight, a hiss sprouting from their lips.

Paul just exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake." He muttered, knowing everyone could hear him. "I'm sure you've done the math in your head, we outnumber you 3 to 1. Don't even bother trying to attack, we'll kill you so fast it wouldn't even be fun for us." His math was off but they did outnumber them by double.

"We're not looking for a fight." The pixie said as she straightened. "Bella just wants to see Charlie, make sure that he's alright." She added with a false sweetness that settled like lead in the air around them.

"Charlie's fine. Not that she cared anyways, she's the one that up and left." Paul said with a shrug and Bella threw her hand over her mouth, stifling an overdramatic gasp. Jesus, had she always been like that? Jacob wondered to himself.

"Whose Sydney?" Edward asked with a smugness that glinted in his eyes, staring directly at Jacob. Jacob felt his heart tighten automatically, a reaction he'd had every time he saw her or heard her name lately. Jacob built his mental walls up, having practiced for years with the pack and saw Edward slightly cock his head towards Seth. "Who is Sydney, Seth?" Edward asked, his eyes never leaving Jacob.

Jacob didn't dare send out any mental communications to any of the pack and silently commanded them to do the same, knowing that Edward could fucking read it all. How could Jacob have forgotten that?

"Whoever it is, they're real protective of her. Felt them all get real possessive real quick." The emotion controller said in his slow drawl. Jacob's wolf stamped his paw into the ground, frustrated with not being able to attack, wanting to kill.

Paul, sensing the anxiety immediately, clapped his hands together, drawing the attention back onto himself. "Well, as fun as this is, I must revert back to our previous offer. Leave or we kill you. And we'd like to know now."

"Wait." Edward said, studying Ayana's wolf with a rapt curiosity. Jacob opened the link between himself and Ayana and saw what she was thinking. Sydney in the kitchen talking to her with a cup of tea held to her lips, Sydney in the parking lot as she took blows from Brice as Jacob ran outside, Sydney with two black eyes and a crooked nose, Sydney over the weekend with a smile that bloomed from her lips in the most beautiful way.

Jacob knew that Ayana had found a friend, a true friend in Sydney and these leeches mentioning her, asking about her had brought up an unbridled fierceness in Ayana, she was just playing through the memories she had of Sydney, her wolf feeding the human's need to remember why Ayana needed to protect her. _Ayana._ Jacob thought to Ayana alone, softly. Her thoughts immediately ceased and remorse instantly took their place.

"Why was he here?" Edward asked, walking to the front of the group. Paul took a step forward as if to meet him head on, his figure towering over that of Edward's but Edward ignored him and instead stared straight at Jacob. "How do you know Brice?"

Everyone froze.

Jacob could feel the breath leaving his snout but everything else was silent, not even the trees seemed to want to move in the following seconds. Paul turned slowly to Jacob, a rage splayed across his features dotted with confusion. Jacob couldn't think straight, there were too many possibilities and too many questions that needed answers.

 _Sam, give the command if anything goes wrong._ Jacob thought and prepared himself for the shift. He gathered his thoughts as best he could, considering the situation, and phased. The snap of skin pronouncing itself all over his body and he left his eyes closed for a fraction of a second, before opening them to stare back at Edward and Edward alone.

"How the fuck do you know about that worthless piece of shit?" Jacob asked, his voice a booming bass. Paul took a step backwards, aligning himself next to Jacob but an inch or so back, still following pack order even in human form.

"We've been staying in Canada the past few weeks. A man came to our cabin, he had been traveling in the woods for days it had seemed and asked for shelter. He told us the story of how his one and only had left him for someone else, had turned him away when he had traveled across the country to be with her. Told us she broke his heart and it had, in turn, broken him." Edward paused, looking to the emotion guy, Jasper? That sounded right.

"I ain't ever felt heartbreak like that. He was a broken man. Like there was nothin' left in there but despair and hopelessness." Jasper said stoically.

"There's no way what I saw in Ayana's mind is right though…I saw his thoughts. I saw what happened through his eyes." Edward began but Jacob held up his hand.

"He sold you a lie and you all believed it. _That fucker_ abused a friend of ours. Attacked her in the diner parking lot. What you saw in Ayana's mind was what happened. I don't know how he got away with lying to you but he did. He isn't to be trusted." Jacob said with a sneer. "Maybe you're losing your touch."

"But that's not possible." Bella said, her brows furrowed. "He can't lie to Edward and Jasper, it's not possible." She seemed to be trying to convince herself and everyone else at the same time.

Jasper thought for a moment, staring at a tree off to the right, pulling his words together. "My best guess, which isn't much of one right now, is that he believes the lie so much that he's convinced himself that it's the truth. Fooled both of us." Jasper said looking towards Edward who nodded curtly. Jasper added in a whisper, "And that don't ever happen." If Jacob didn't know any better, he would say the leech almost looked impressed.

"Where is he now?" Jacob asked, his hands balling into fists, his nails popping into the skin on his hands which immediately healed themselves over. The leeches fell silent and looked around at each other. Jacob felt his body tense. "Where is he?" He asked again, his voice dripping with hatred.

"We didn't know." Bella said quietly. Jacob's gaze snapped to hers and he let the fury and contempt that was consuming him traverse the distance between them and settle in her eyes. She blinked unnecessarily and looked away. Jacob snapped his gaze back to Jasper who was looking at Jacob with a defeated look.

"We ain't normally the type to create more of us, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time." He began slowly.

Edward interjected then and Jacob steeled himself for what he knew was about to be said. "One of our family members from Alaska was visiting and his blood called to her, in the way that Bella's called to mine. She couldn't stop herself, it took 5 of us to pull her off of him before Carlisle had to inject him with venom to start the change."

Jacob saw the rest of the Cullen clan standing impossibly still, none of them looking at Jacob.

"When was this?" Jacob asked flatly.

"He finished the change 2 days ago, he had come into our home 3 days before that." Edward supplied.

Jacob did the math in his head. The fucker must have somehow gotten away from Charlie, walked _to Canada_ and somehow stumbled onto the Cullen's. Of fucking course.

"He's still in Canada, with Carlisle and Esme." The buff one said, Everett? Evan?

Jacob realized the sun was rising, they needed to get back to the rez. But this new development was too big to ignore. _Fuck._

"This doesn't make any sense." The pixie piped in. "But he's one of us now, whatever the story may be."

The wolves behind him rose in a chorus of deafening growls and angry snarls. Jacob took a breath and let his eyes close for a second while he thought out his next move. The faces of Kyra and Sydney floated through his mind, as did the face of every child of the pack, every imprint, every teenager on the rez, every single god damn person he was responsible for protecting.

Sydney holding a crying Kyra in her lap the other night on Sam's porch was etched into his mind, the two people he cared for most right now. A conversation he had with Billy flitted through his mind.

 _"But it's not as powerful as an imprint?" Billy had asked.  
Jacob shook his head. "I feel drawn to her but it's not the innate possessive need of the imprint. But the pull is strong, I feel obligated to protect her, to keep her safe and happy." Jacob hadn't even been this honest with himself, he didn't know why he was opening up so much to his father.  
Billy just nodded, his lips pursed in thought. "There's one legend but there ain't a lot that we know 'bout it." He began, wheeling himself to the bookshelf that sat next to the ancient television. "Taha Aki had a son, his first son, who was next in line to be Alpha when Taha Aki passed. The legend says that the son never imprinted but had this real strong and powerful love for a woman from another tribe. They called it a 'toma' which meant 'his sun'.  
That woman gave birth to a son, who also had a son who was your great-grandfather, Ephraim Black." Billy explained, looking through the books before finally locating one that was falling apart at the seams. "It's all written in here, if ya wanna look." He said, handing the book to Jacob.  
It all made sense. As an Alpha, he couldn't have an imprint because the pull was too strong, too much focus. He had to be focused on the pack at all times so it made sense that the pull he was feeling for Sydney wasn't an imprint but rather something entirely else, something that was just theirs.  
"Can she feel it too?" Jacob asked, turning the book over in his hand. Billy shrugged and just said, "I would think so. Probably feels exactly what you feel." _

The Cullen's had created a monster, a monster that could lie to both the mind reader and the emotion controller, a monster that wasn't afraid to lie, wasn't afraid to get caught, wasn't afraid of hitting women in open spaces.

He needed to die. Soon.

Jacob's eyes shot open and he looked to the Cullen clan with disgust boiling in his stomach. "I will kill him." He stated simply and was immediately greeted with protests and hisses from the fake family.

"Jacob" Bella whined. God, had she seriously always been like that? What had he ever seen in her? "Please don't do this. He's part of our family now." She droned on and it took every ounce of will power not to roll his eyes.

"You've known him for 5 days and he's now family? Family that you would die to protect?" Jacob asked with resentment dripping from his lips. "That's pathetic." He spat at her. "You're so desperate to cling to whatever is left of your humanity that you're projecting it onto another person. He _lied to you_. He is fucking psychotic, he beat a woman's face in just because he could. Is that really the kind of people you're surrounding yourself with these days?" Bella looked shocked and hurt, her hand automatically reaching out for Edward. She was always so god damn dependent.

Jacob turned to Paul who had a hate burning in his eyes and said, "Phase." Paul nodded and jumped into the phase, coming within inches of the Cullen's, his jaw snapping and his teeth bared. _Never one to miss an opportunity._ Jacob thought again.

"We won't let you hurt him." The blondie said, crossing her arms and looking pissed.

"We're not asking permission." Jacob responded, his voice even.

"Jacob, don't do this. We just want to see Charlie. We'll go back right after, we'll get Brice away from here. Just let me see my dad." Bella was pleading now and Jacob took a deep breath before he said the things he had been dreaming of saying for years now.

"You seriously believe we'll let you walk right back into Forks, so you can pick up right where you left off? It's been _eight years_ , Bella, you need to realize that just because you stopped aging doesn't mean that time stopped just for you. Charlie needs to move on, you _broke_ him. Your selfish, conceited, _pathetically stupid_ actions hurt him in ways you can't even imagine." Jacob spoke so that each word was punctuated with animosity. "You don't get to see him. You gave up that privilege. You made your choice and you get to live out your disgusting semblance of an existence knowing that. Do you realize that Charlie prefers to imagine you dead than to face the idea that you willingly left him alone?" Jacob spat, the words cutting through the air like a razor. He could feel as another wolf joined them. Leah.

Before Jacob could continue, Leah had phased into her human form and was standing next to him, albeit slightly behind and looked to him for acknowledgement. Jacob flicked his gaze to Leah and their eyes met for the briefest moment before Leah stepped towards Bella at an inhuman speed. The other leeches swarmed her but Leah just held her hands up in surrender, still staring at Bella with a stare that could kill.

" _How dare you._ " Leah spit through her teeth. "You selfish, ignorant bitch."

"That's enough." Edward bellowed, standing between Leah and Bella. Bella was crying, or at least pretending to, Jacob didn't actually see any tears falling. Leah just looked up into Edward's eyes, reared her head back and spit in his face.

And before Jacob could blink, chaos erupted.

* * *

 **A/N: I made some alterations to the Taha Aki timeline to better fit the story, so don't hate me for it :) Also, I hope I answered the imprint question in this chapter! If it still doesn't make sense, I'll go into more detail as to what it entails when Jacob tells Sydney!**

 **Thank you so, so much to theREALladyofthewest for helping me sort through my storyline, your support means everything!**


	12. Chapter 11

Songs: "Young and Free" by Dermot Kennedy, "Paper Moon" by Miner, and "Is There Somewhere" by Halsey.

Author's Note: Huge shout out to theREALladyofthewest for being an incredible human and also for validating my errant story ideas. And also for being a brilliant writer herself.

* * *

 **Leah's POV**

"Hey baby, I'm gonna be late tonight. Some of the guys from work wanna grab a beer. Know that I'm thinking about you. Nayeli, my moon, I'll be home soon." The voicemail from Caleb played into her ear and she smiled softly, pressing save on her phone. Leah put her phone back into her back pocket and stepped into her apartment.

It had been a long, tiring day but she felt so good. She was so…happy. She was working as a personal trainer during the day and volunteered with underprivileged teen girls in the afternoons, much like she had done on the reservation. It was all exhausting but she was flourishing in Seattle. She was just far enough away from the rez to make a life of her own but close enough to be there if the pack needed her.

Years ago, she and Jacob had bonded over their commiseration. Leah was hopelessly suffering through heartbreak and so was Jacob and it took them so long to realize that instead of hating each other for suffering through similar pains, they could befriend each other and work through it together. Granted, working through it meant getting drunk a lot but it worked for them. They became friends.

When Jacob had become Alpha, he started cutting back Leah's patrol schedule. She didn't want any part of being in the pack and although she could turn into a giant wolf, it didn't mean that she wanted to. About two years ago, Jacob had cut her from the schedule completely and the whole pack had sent her off to Seattle with a huge party that had lasted for two days. She still came back to visit every now and then but it had been months since she had phased. Jacob made sure of it, the pack had been more than supportive and Leah was forever grateful.

She put her purse on the small coffee table that sat in front of the couch and went to go turn on the music speaker. The song started playing as she walked into the kitchen, a modern space that was filled with all the latest and greatest appliances, thanks to her husband Caleb. He was obsessed with cooking and they had redone the kitchen entirely before they had moved in. She made herself a quick meal and sat on the couch, letting the calm night surround her and the music seep into her consciousness.

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep, her head lolling backwards to rest on the back of the couch, her arms palm up on either side of her.

"You. Are. Perfect." Caleb said softly, kissing her between each word. She smiled sleepily as she rejoined reality and laid her head on her own shoulder, looking up at the beautiful man that was all hers.

She had met Caleb 3 years prior at a tribe gathering. Leah had been pissed that she had been dragged to yet another council meeting and better yet, this one involved other tribe's councils as well. She could still remember how annoyed she had been when she walked into that plain brown building on the Makah Reservation and the second she stepped into the room and laid eyes on Caleb, her entire world changed. She hadn't imprinted but Caleb drew her in like a moth to a flame.

He was gorgeous, tall and strong with long braided black hair that went to his waist. His smile is what captivated Leah so quickly, his white teeth shining against the copper of his skin and the pink of his lips. He had an angular face, his features sharpened but there was a gentleness to him, a warmness that he spread wherever he went. He had taken her out to coffee after the meeting that neither of them had paid attention to and the rest was history. They had fallen in love slowly, learned more about each other every single day and she felt fulfilled. The love she had shared with Sam didn't hold a candle to the simplicity of the love and the all-consuming joy she felt with Caleb.

He knew about the wolves and he had supported her decision when she chose to stop, understood the place of pain she was coming from. They had created a life for themselves in Seattle and they wanted to start a family soon, they were both ready and now that Leah had stopped phasing, her body had returned to a normal menstrual cycle.

"Let's go to bed, my moon." Caleb whispered into her ear and she shivered, his voice resonating into the deepest parts of her soul. He scooped her up quickly into her arms and she let out a laugh, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I love you." She mumbled simply.

Hours later, her phone's shrill ring pierced the air and caused her to start awake. Even though she stopped phasing, her unnaturally exceptional hearing remained the same and even on the lowest volume, a phone ringing was the worst sound for her.

"Who in the hell…" She muttered as she shuffled to the jeans that had been tossed to the floor a few hours earlier in haste. She pulled the offending device out and looked at the name. Paul.

"You better have a damn good…." She started threateningly before Paul cut her off.

"There's a coven. Jake asked for you. I'm sorry." He said simply before hanging up. Leah took a deep breath and cursed quietly. _So much for retirement._ She thought to herself dryly. She walked over to where Caleb was sleeping, his arm still stretched out from where she had just been using it as a pillow.

"Caleb, I have to go." She muttered into his ear and he grumbled incoherently. She smiled and said, "I'll text you when I'm near city limits again. I love you." He reached out and squeezed her hand.

"Be safe." He mumbled "Nyeli." I love you. She squeezed his hand back and pulled on a sundress before stepping into the dark night. She didn't even know what time it was. _This had better be good._ She thought as she got into her car and headed for the bridge that connected Seattle to Bremerton. She would have to drive to Bremerton, leave her car somewhere, phase, then run through the entire width of Olympic National Park to get to La Push. All in all, about a half hour if she sped and ran as fast as she could. Which she would.

As she finally made it to Bremerton, she went to the spot near a lumber yard that was inconspicuous enough that she could ditch her car for a few hours and phase back without being seen running naked back to her car. She took a deep breath as she stood a few hundred feet inside the tree line, her naked body exposed to the cold air, and she let her body do what she had suppressed for so long.

Because she didn't phase often, it was painful, excruciating. Like bones being broken all over her body and a fire that consumed her from the inside out. Her paws landed with a deep thud against the soft, wet earth and the breath from her snout misted into the air. She shook her pelt and stretched before taking off at a full sprint due west.

The pack mind was eerily quiet, _like they had been silenced_ she thought and she could sense the agreement from the other members of the pack but couldn't hear it being verbalized. _Weird._ She was about to think-ask what was going on when she felt what seemed like steel bars pressing down on her thoughts, blocking the words from forming. _Alpha Order._ She thought and again, she could sense agreement but no verbal communication. She tried tapping into Paul's mind but he wasn't phased in, so she went to Embry's next. He was watching a scene unfold, almost all of the pack was there and Jacob and Paul were standing next to each other facing a group of people.

 _Jesus fucking Christ._ She thought those leeches had left them the hell alone but no, of course not, here they were shoving their noses into business that wasn't theirs _again._ Leah could feel the bitterness and anger spreading throughout her entire body, it was consuming her veins, clouding her vision. She filtered through Embry's mind, trying to find memories of this Brice person they kept talking about and when she saw what had happened, her guy clenched. _What kind of sick fuck…_

She tried to focus back into Embry's present mind and saw that they were talking, asking to see Charlie. Leah inadvertently let out a snarl as she ran, her paws digging into the ground. Leah's mother, Sue, had gotten close with Charlie in the years after Bella left and eventually Sue and Charlie got married which had taken some getting used to but Leah had learned to love Charlie like a father and was protective of him more than he could ever imagine. Bella leaving had destroyed him and Leah had seen first hand the emotional turmoil he had pulled himself through to even get to a place of normalcy. It had taken _years_.

But eventually, slowly, they had become a little family. It hadn't been easy, of course, the residual hurt from their father's death, the fact that both Seth and Leah blamed themselves for causing him to die, Charlie's hopeless search for answers, Sue's torn heart loving two men at the same time. But they did it, they supported each other, loved each other, helped each other get to the place they were now. Charlie had even walked her down the aisle at her wedding with her mother and Caleb had asked for both Charlie and Sue's blessing before proposing.

Charlie was family. Charlie was _pack_.

There was no way in hell Leah was going to let Bella walk back into his life like nothing was wrong, and especially as a _vampire_. How selfish can you get? Her thoughts were scattered and angry and before she realized it, she was approaching where they all were standing, she slowed to a silent walk as she neared, and caught the last few sentences, her blood still boiling.

"Jacob, don't do this. We just want to see Charlie. We'll go back right after, we'll get Brice away from here. Just let me see my dad." Bella. God, had she always sounded this annoying? _Yeah._ She answered herself.

Jacob spoke then, his shoulders squaring towards Bella, his spine straightening. The voice he used was one Leah hadn't heard in years. When they used to get drunk on the cliffs, they would take turns yelling into the wind what they actually wanted to say to the ones who had left them, who had hurt them so deeply. Jacob's voice always had taken on another persona when he yelled into the nothingness of the ocean air, like the hurt was harrowed into his bones but as the months went on, the harrowed and hollow hurt became strength and confidence. Leah's heart clenched as she realized Jacob was finally getting his chance. _Give her hell._ Leah thought supportively.

"You seriously believe we'll let you walk right back into Forks, so you can pick up right where you left off? It's been _eight years_ , Bella, you need to realize that just because you stopped aging doesn't mean that time stopped just for you. Charlie needs to move on, you _broke_ him. Your selfish, conceited, _pathetically stupid_ actions hurt him in ways you can't even imagine." Jacob spoke so that each word was punctuated with animosity and Leah's fury was at a tipping point. It was all too much. "You don't get to see him. You gave up that privilege. You made your choice and you get to live out your disgusting semblance of an existence knowing that. Do you realize that Charlie prefers to imagine you dead than to face the idea that you willingly left him alone?" Before Leah was even aware of what she was doing, she was back in her human form, standing slightly behind Jacob, seeking his acknowledgement and once she got it, she stepped towards Bella, her thoughts hazy with rage.

She was only vaguely aware of the other leeches as she stood toe to toe with the one, Bella fucking _Cullen._

" _How dare you._ " Leah felt the words simmering from behind her teeth, igniting like a flame against her tongue. "You selfish, ignorant bitch." She continued on, wanting to rip the throat from this _child_ who had caused them all so much pain, so much damn heartache. Her pyscho stalker of a husband was now blocking Bella, standing in front of Leah. She was aware that he had said something but it didn't matter, he was in the way. Leah reared her head back and spit into his face, feeling a smug grin glide across her lips as it was happening.

The earth seemed to split at that moment and there were so many movements in a fraction of a second. Leah felt her hair getting pulled from behind, pulling her backwards as a pale female fist connected with the air where she had just stood. Two wolves were standing in front of her within the second and the blood suckers were all crouching low, ready to attack. Leah needed to phase back, she needed to be ready for the fight but as she looked to Jacob, she saw him jerk his head ever so slightly to the right, telling her no. He locked his gaze back onto the Cullen's.

"I see that this isn't going to be peaceful or amicable." He said dryly, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Perhaps not." Jasper responded with matching sarcasm. Leah felt like her insides were being torn to shreds, her skin felt like it was vibrating with tension, her muscles twitching uncontrollably. The urge to phase, to show these monsters just how badly they hurt the people she loved was insurmountable. She took a steeling breath, wanting to channel this anger into words that couldn't be misconstrued and she wanted them to understand just how methodical and careless they had been in their modern-day colonization of the pack and the tribe. She straightened and looked fearlessly to the Cullen's, gaining strength from her brothers and sisters standing all around her.

"Your _family_ " She said sarcastically, "has caused my people more hurt than can be undone in a lifetime. You have systematically oppressed, violated, and harmed hundreds of people. You have forever negatively impacted their way of life; ripped futures away from young men and women, caused families to be torn apart, and frankly, I'm fucking fed up."

Jasper was the first to straighten, Emmett following soon after, the others remained crouched and angry. No one talked for a moment, the words sinking into the world around them. Leah could feel Jacob's eyes on her but she continued, never breaking eye contact with the leeches.

"Now, someone who came into our lives solely to hurt us is now in a position of power, because you have created him and my pack and I don't take this lightly. I haven't even met this man and I can see how terrifyingly awful he is at his core. Brice is a threat to people I care about and I will take him out. Regarding the issue of Bella seeing Charlie, absolutely not. It's ridiculous that you thought it would be okay." Bella opened her mouth to protest and Leah glared in return at the incoherent teenager.

"I will issue the pack's presented choice once more. Leave or we kill you. There will be no negotiations." Finally, she looked to Jacob who looked proud, looked like the brother and friend she had come to know. Jacob then looked to Jasper who seemed to be processing everyone's emotions with some difficulty. Emmett shifted, his giant shoulders brushing against Rosalie who straightened to a standing position and she minutely jerked her head backwards.

"This isn't our fight." Emmett said brusquely and grabbed Rosalie's hand. They scanned the wolves before turning and running in the opposite direction. Leah looked over and saw that Edward looked livid.

 _Not such a big, happy family after all._ Leah thought bitterly and Edward's eyes snapped to hers as another smug grin dashed across her face. _You fucking heard that right._

"But Jacob…" Bella whined again and Jacob held up his hand to stop her.

"Leave. Or we kill you." Jacob reiterated, pointedly looking Bella directly in the eyes and Leah could feel herself mentally cheering him on. Leah reached her hand into the pelt of Embry's wolf that was next to her to affirm their connection, touch was a big thing for the wolves, digging her fingers into the fur. Embry leaned into the touch as they watched the scene unfold. "I stand with Leah. I stand with my pack. You've trampled on our kindness for far too long and you need to leave."

"Dear, let's just go back and discuss things with Carlisle. We can revisit this conversation another day." Edward said gently to Bella, coddling her. Leah rolled her eyes, _it's not like she's a fucking child._ She thought and Edward's gaze snapped to Leah again. Leah just smiled sarcastically and waved.

"I'd appreciate it if you brought your thoughts to a more appropriate and educated level." Edward seethed and Leah barked a laugh.

She could feel the fire that had been burning in her belly for over an hour now reaching new heights, licking her veins and consuming her focus. So much for keeping composure. Her body started trembling violently then, everything in her mind and in her body was fixated on destroying that poofy-haired buffoon.

Embry's snout brushed against her arm, a soft and reassuring touch. It was the faintest flicker of a touch, but her body immediately stopped trembling, the wolf responding to the physical and innate need to touch. "So, uh, I don't know if you guys can take a hint or not, but you should go." Embry said to the remaining Cullen's and they all nodded imperceptibly, to a human anyways. Leah hadn't even realized he had phased back in the past few seconds.

"We know when our presence is wanted and apparently now isn't such a time." Edward said, holding onto Bella's hand like his life would dramatically end if she let go.

"Figured that one out all on your own there, did ya?" Embry replied and Leah's short and silent laugh blew through her nose.

They all turned away and ran into the woods, the morning light bouncing off of them in a comical way.

All at once, they turned to Jacob who was staring after the now long gone vampires. He took a deep breath and then turned to meet their gazes.

"Well, that was one way to start the day." He lamented flatly. "Alright, we'll double up on patrols but I don't want to have to make anyone work more than they feel like they can. We all have lives, we all have jobs, some of us have families but we have to remember that we were created to _protect._ These Cullen's will come back. It may not be for a while, but they will make their presence known again and when they do step back onto the land that they have trespassed on for years on end, we will kill them all. No questions asked. It's time to put a stop to this." He paused for a moment, thinking.

Leah knew, as well as the rest of the pack, that Jacob was probably running through everyone's schedules in his mind, trying to figure out what would work best for everyone. He was probably accounting for their kids' school schedules and practices, their wives' jobs and how he could make sure that their wives and imprints didn't have to take care of all of the kids for days on end alone.

"For now, I want us all phased." He said before jumping into the air, seamlessly jettisoning his wolf into existence. Leah rolled her head to her shoulder, cracking her neck before letting the phase take over her body.

 _I want us all_ _on patrol._ He thought. _Call who you need to but I don't want news of them being here to get back to the rez. Be discreet. We can be honest later when we know they're no longer in the country. I want Paul, Ayana, Michael, and Seth to head west. I want_ _Brady, Sam, Quil, and Collin to go east and I want Jared, Embry, and Leah to come with me to follow them north. If something seems out of the ordinary, alert who you're closest too and broadcast it to the pack if you feel like you need help._

No one moved for a moment and it was Seth who initiated what had been come to known as WTT which they all pronounced 'wut' which stood for Weird Touch Thing. They honestly didn't know what else to call it. It had taken them so long to realize that their wolves _needed_ tactile affirmation from pack members. It was even in small gestures like pats on the back, unconsciously thumbing someone's shoulder, playful elbows to the chest, but they were always there. In wolf form, it was expounded ten-fold. They all walked around each other, touching each member of the pack in some way. Whether it was a lupine graze of a face or a giant shoulder getting rammed into a chest, it always happened when they were all together and they needed to work as one. It connected them.

The group heading to the east took off first, then the west and finally Jared, Embry, Jacob and Leah were all that was left. Jacob's russet head nodded and they all took off, running north, chasing after the things they despised most on earth.

Leah's frustrations were palpable in her own mind but she focused on the task at hand.

 _We all feel the same way._ Jared thought to Leah supportively.

The day passed in a blur, each group tracking and patrolling the surrounding areas. Thought were kept short and efficient. Jacob had done an incredible job of teaching everyone to compartmentalize their thoughts so everyone wasn't sharing every errant thought they had. Everyone in the pack could project their thoughts to the whole pack, a group within the pack, or just one person which was wildly helpful. Leah still had nightmares of the visuals she had been subjected to as a young woman when her thoughts were linked with hormonal, testosterone-jacked, and some imprinted teenage boys. Gone were the days of weird sexual fantasies driven by anyone they came in contact with, thank god.

At one point during the day, Leah realized they were so far north they were getting near Prince George. As the thought crossed her mind, an image was being projected to the entire pack from Collin. He was patrolling the rez near Sam and Emily's house and most of their kids, Kim, and Sydney were covered head to toe in mud, only the white of their smiles and of their eyes were visible. Emily was standing on the porch, one hand on her hip and a garden hose in the other, spraying them down and enjoying it _thoroughly_. As the hose down continued, the kids and two adults could be seen running for cover and squealing and Leah could feel the love and adoration from every single member of the pack for that group of people.

Night fell and Leah phased to her human form to call Caleb to update him again. She had only been able to talk to him early in the morning and she wanted to just check in, knowing he was probably worried.

The soft earth squished beneath her bare feet and the trees were groaning in the light breeze that wafted through the dense forest. Leah smiled as Caleb picked up on the first ring. "My moon. Are you safe?" He answered and Leah's smile grew wider.

"I'm safe. We're somewhere in Canada, we should only be out for a few more hours but I just wanted to hear your voice." She admitted and Caleb chuckled on the other end.

"Canada, eh?" He joked and Leah rolled her eyes. "I know you just rolled your eyes at me but I'm hilarious and you married me, so you're stuck with it." He teased and Leah laughed. "I'm glad to hear you're safe. Call me again when you can but know that I love you." He said, his voice soft and Leah cradled the phone to her face, wishing he was there with her.

"I love you too and I'll call in a few hours. I should be home around 2am?" She guessed and let out a short breath, realizing that she will have been up for around 24 hours at that point.

"Well, I'll have a hot bath and so much food you won't even know what to do with it waiting when you get home. And I'll even pick out all the leaves from your hair." Leah laughed again and love vibrated through her heart. He was so good to her.

"I'll call soon." She promised before ending with, "I love you."

Hanging up, she placed her phone back into the small pouch on her calf. When she phased in, there was a conversation happening in the group that had gone north.

 _Good, Leah, you're back._ Jacob thought and continued, _like I said earlier, I want doubles on patrol but I also want everyone well rested. The group that went west has been sleeping for the past 5 hours or so, once they phase back in, you guys are free to go but I want you back for your scheduled shift. Once your shift is over, you'll stay on for the next one as well so that everyone has back up._

They all thought their agreement, finding the schedule agreeable and started running towards home. As they approached the proverbial fork in the road, they all slowed.

 _I'll be back at 5pm_ Leah thought to the group and their wolves all nodded.

 _Call if anything happens, we can be there in less than 10 minutes if needed_ Jacob responded and Leah could feel her giant head nodding her response. As the 3 other wolves turned to go, Leah watched as they ran away before turning towards Seattle, towards home. It was dark again, the day coming to a close and exhaustion hit her from all sides. As she approached the tree line where he car was parked, she felt the taut skin snapping into place and walked through, smelling the air to make sure the coast was clear before sprinting to her car.

She slipped into her sundress, the cold air not affecting her, before calling Caleb to let him know she was heading home. _Finally._

Sure enough, when she walked up the short stairs to her apartment, she could smell the food wafting through the air and she smiled, her shoulders slumping forward in the familiarity of comfort.

"Welcome home, my moon." Caleb answered the door looking devilishly handsome with a grin on his face that said he was up to no good. Leah forgot all about her exhaustion and how hungry she was as she threw her arms around his neck and let her lips tell his the story of how much he meant to her and just how happy she was to be home.


	13. Chapter 12

Songs for the chapter: "Cherry Blossoms" by Night Beds, "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room" by John Mayer, "Northern Wind" by City and Colour, and "Forest Fires" by Axel Flovent.

* * *

 **Jacob's POV**

His mind was on 6 different tracks all at once, like he was trying to watch tv on 6 different stations, flipping and flipping and flipping as fast as he could and receiving all of the information at the same time. It had taken him _years_ to figure out how to understand it, _years_ to finally be able to navigate through the murkiness of others' thoughts and emotions and underlying currents that resided in their brains. There were the spoken, direct thoughts, there were the emotions that portrayed themselves in colors, and there were the suppressed memories, the inner monologues, and the errant thoughts of things they probably shouldn't be thinking about. The pack mind seemed never ending.

Intense emotional experiences tended to leave his pack's minds on over-drive, everyone was trying their best to stay silent but to his mind, it was like they were all screaming. He was sure it was quiet for everyone else, just left to their own thoughts except when someone was directly projecting something to them, but to Jacob, it was a constant running dialogue from _everyone. All the time._ He could never escape it, only try to navigate through it.

It had been such a long day, such an exhausting day and for him, it was only beginning. Once they got back to the rez, he would have to run double what he normally did, just like everyone else, but that meant 16-hour patrol shifts scattered throughout the day. He had Kyra to think about, he had the garage and his customers to think about, he had meetings with some of the teenagers to think about, he had Sydney. _Shit._

 _Michael and Collin, you're on, I want full patrols of the west end of Olympic, Forks and frequent checks on La Push._ He thought simply and felt the acknowledgement from those two as well as the pure relief from everyone else, thoughts of beds and wives and imprints and kids and food flitted sporadically through everyone's mind. The only thought Jacob had was of Kyra. He needed to hold her, needed to know she was completely safe. As Sam and Jacob ran towards Sam's cottage, he felt most of the pack phase out quickly, getting safely back to their homes. Soon enough, it was just Jacob, Sam, Michael and Collin. _I'll be back in a few hours to check in on you and to give you a small break._ Jacob thought as Sam phased out, having reached the tree line. _Howl if anything is wrong until then._

Jacob was antsy to be back in his human skin, to be alone with his own thoughts for one god damn second. As he stood by the tree line, the night sky dotted with small flecks of lights and the ambient light coming from the small home shooting warmth through the air, Jacob took a deep breath and let the phase take over him, relishing in the all-too-familiar snap of skin against muscles and bones. He stretched his arms above his head, rolled his head around on his shoulders and shook out his arms. _Fuck, that felt good._

He grabbed a pair of shorts from one of the ever-stocked bins and walked towards Sam's. As he approached the front porch, the door swung open wildly and Kyra shot out with her arms outstretched. "DADDY!" She yelled, flinging herself into Jacob's waiting arms and Jacob's face felt like his smile was going to overtake his cheeks. He scooped her up and she immediately buried her face into his shoulder before jerking her head away.

"PEEEEYOUUUUUU daddy! You stink!" She giggled and plugged her nose, waving her small hand around trying to shoo the stench from his body and Jacob's body shook with a laugh. He was so grateful for this little human, almost 30 hours on his feet and she was able to make him forget it all in two seconds. He just hugged her close and kissed the top of her head as he pushed into the house.

Emily and Sam were embracing in the kitchen like they hadn't seen each other in years and Jacob rolled his eyes halfheartedly, some things never changed.

"Now, little one, what makes you think you can get away with being awake at 2 am?" Jacob asked Kyra and Emily broke away from Sam, immediately putting both hands on her hips and donning a frown.

"Well…." Kyra started, looking guilty when Emily interrupted.

" _Someone_ wanted to wait until you got home so we've been taking small naps but this someone in particular refused to go to bed." Emily said, her face looking at Kyra with reprimand and Kyra looked up to Jacob with his eyes big and her lip pouted. Jacob's heart immediately melted and he was putty in that little girl's hand.

"I just wanted to stay awake until you came home, daddy, I'm sorry." She said quietly and his melted heart shattered into pieces, if that was even possible.

"That's okay little one, but let's let Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam go to bed. Maybe you should apologize to Aunt Emily for making her stay awake and tell her thank you?" He suggested and Kyra wiggled to get free from Jacob's grasp. Once she was on the ground, she bolted to Emily and hugged her tightly, with a ferocity that spoke the testament of their relationship.

"I'm sorry I made you stay awake Aunt Emily." Kyra mumbled into Emily's waist and Emily's soft, crooked smile fell onto her lips as she looked down on Kyra.

"And?" Jacob guided.

"And I'm sorry I made you watch Beauty and the Beast 14 times." She mumbled again and Emily laughed, her head falling backwards. Jacob eyes popped open. "14?!" He asked incredulously and Emily nodded, taking a deep sigh as she did. Jacob was almost afraid of what else might come out of his daughter's mouth when he asked again, "And?"

"And thank you for letting me stay with you." Kyra said, lifting her head to look up at Emily's face and Emily brought her hand to Kyra's face, cupping her chin. "Anything for you." She said softly and Kyra smiled her toothy grin. "But let's get you home, yeah?"

Kyra nodded and turned back towards Jacob, her arms outstretched again and Jacob picked her up easily. "I can't thank you enough." He said to Emily, reaching out to grab her hand and she just smiled, her head tilted slightly. Jacob was eternally grateful to Emily who had stepped up to help him take care of Kyra when he couldn't, when he didn't know what to do or how to handle something. He knew that there were certain things that only women could do for his little one and Emily had shown Kyra a love that was unbridled and beautiful, never wavering and always kind.

"You know it's no problem. Plus, we had a lot of help from the one Ms. Delahunt." Emily winked and squeezed Jacob's hand. Jacob's heart squeezed at the mention of Sydney and he looked towards Sam, nodding once before turning to leave.

Not 10 steps into the walk home, Kyra had fallen asleep, her mouth gaping with exhaustion. Jacob laughed silently as he looked down at her. After he had put her to bed and showered as much of the grime and mud from his body as he could without falling over from fatigue, he fell face first into his bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep instantly.

An alarm shrilling next to his head ripped him from the rest he so desperately needed more of. He groaned and looked at the clock. 6:45 am. School. Kyra. Breakfast. Shower. _Sydney._ His head picked up off the pillow as the last thought settled over him. He would see Sydney this morning. It had only been a couple days since he had seen her last, but the pull towards her was still there and after encountering the vamps from hell, he just wanted to make sure she was okay.

Kyra was looked as sleepy as Jacob felt and he had to practically carry her to breakfast, her hair sticking up in places and drool dried on her cheek. He had never loved her more. He let her nap on the truck's seat as they drove to school, finding solace in the quiet ride.

"Good morning Syd." He said quietly into the classroom. Sydney was writing on the white board, she was wearing dark jeans and a black and flowy shirt danced around her body as she wrote, her back towards him and her scent hit him like a freight train. It was fresh and warm and happy and so very… _her._ Her head picked up slightly when she heard him and she turned quickly to face him. Kyra was putting her bookbag in her cubby and there were no other students in the room.

"Jake." She breathed and she looked relieved which made Jake's ego flare up to twice it's normal size. A smile crept onto her pink lips and her eyes softened. That's when Jake realized just how tired she looked. Beautiful, but so very tired. "I'm glad to see you're okay." She said softly, walking towards him. Everything in him wanted to take her into his arms, to kiss her, to show her how much he was starting to care about her but this was her space, her job, her life and he respected her entirely too much to have such a public display of affection in her classroom. So, instead, he brushed the back of his finger softly against her cheek, wanting every emotion he was feeling for her to translate to that simple touch.

Her eyes closed for a fraction of a second before flickering open again as she smiled and took a deep breath. "Can we talk tonight?" He asked and she nodded. "I won't be picking Kyra up but can I swing by your place around 8?" He continued and she thought for a moment.

"I actually have dinner plans with Joe, the guy who is renting out my house, but I can give you a call when I'm done over there." She replied and Jacob shifted his entire schedule around in his mind.

"Sounds perfect. Just let me know when you're back home." He responded, smiling. Her smile in response matched the brightness of the room and Jake's heart squeezed like was becoming custom. He waved silently as he turned towards the door. "Love you Kyra." He said over his shoulder and Kyra's sleepy gaze drifted towards his and she smiled sluggishly and waved. _Poor kid._

Exhaustion felt like it was leaking from his bones and the day seemed to never end. Hours passed as he ran from patrol to the garage to patrol back to the garage, then stopped by Paul and Rachel's for dinner where Kyra had been all afternoon and would be staying that night.

"Thanks again Rach." He said as he finished off the now warm beer that was on the table after dinner. She just clucked her tongue scornfully.

"Why do you always make it seem like such a big deal? I love spending time with her and she helps keep the boys calm which is more than I could ever ask for." Rachel replied, leaning back in her chair and putting her hands over her belly. "I honestly don't know what in the hell I'm gonna do if this is another damn boy." She muttered, shaking her head. Jacob laughed, a fully belly laugh that shook his body.

"You'll be fine if it is. You're probably the only person on this earth that could handle the male spawns of Paul Lahote." He joked and Paul shouted "I can hear you!" from the living room. Rachel and Jacob sat in the quiet of the kitchen for a moment before Jacob asked softly, "How are you holding up though, really?"

Rachel just smiled her gentle smile up towards him and tilted her head, her black hair falling around her shoulder. "I'm fine. It used to be scary when he would go out there, but I know what you all are capable of. I'm not worried. Plus, the girls are great about helping each other out. You better keep a tight hold on that Sydney though, she's like a damn angel with the kids. They hang onto every word that comes out of her mouth." The corner of Jacob's lip twitched upwards at the thought. "Jacob…"Rachel hedged and he glanced back at his sister. "Did you imprint?" She asked, her head still tilted.

Jacob held up his hands in confusion. "Kind of?" He answered with hesitation. Rachel's eyebrows knitted together in the center of her face.

"What do you mean, _kind of_?" She asked, her voice raising slightly. "There is no grey area, asshole. You either did or you didn't. If you did, you have to tell her! _You know_ how much it affects the imprint just as much as the wolf. When did you get to be so selfish?! Jesus! Have I taught you nothing?!" She was rambling now and Jacob had to put a hand on her shoulder.

"First of all, calm down. You're acting ridiculous. Second of all, I say kind of because…." Jacob started but was interrupted by a barking laugh coming from the living room followed by a mumbled "idiot" from Paul's mouth before Rachel exploded.

"I'M ACTING RIDICULOUS?!" She yelled, piercing Jacob's sensitive ears. "REALLY?! You're the asshole that's ignoring his imprint, you know how she feels about you, you moron!" She was intermittently smacking him in between words, punctuating her point.

Jacob held up his hands in surrender as the berating continued. He may be almost 30 and he may be 6'7" and the Alpha of a wolf pack but _holy shit_ Rachel could be scary.

"I'm sorry!" He half yelled and she crossed her arms. "You're not being ridiculous…I am." She smiled smugly at this and nodded for him to continue. "I say kind of because it's a different kind of imprint for an Alpha. It's not as…all-consuming…as what we've encountered previously. I have to be focused on the pack at all times and if I had a true imprint connection, I wouldn't be able to focus on anyone but her. So, it's like a more toned-down version, I guess." He explained lamely and Rachel seemed to consider it for a second.

"So, you have those feelings but they're not as…crazy?" She asked, looking towards the living room with a roll of her eyes.

"I can STILL hear you!" Paul shouted again and they both laughed.

"Exactly." Jacob replied and before Rachel could get the words out that she was about to say, Jacob's phone rang.

"Yeah?" Jake answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID.  
"Uh, hey…Jake?" Sydney said hesitantly from the other end.  
"Hey Syd, how's it going?" He asked and mentally smacked himself for answering the phone like that just as his sister physically smacked him.  
"I'm done with dinner if you still wanted to head over." She said simply and he could hear her keys unlocking her front door.  
"Yeah, I'll be over in about 20." He replied, "See you soon." He added.  
"See ya." She said and hung up.

"So are you going to tell her?" Rachel asked without missing a beat. Jacob shrugged.

"I don't know that there's anything _to_ tell. It's not as life-altering as a true imprint. I want her to want to be with me, not feel like she's being chained to me out of guilt." He replied, shoving his phone back into his pocket, antsy to see her now.

"It may not be a total one, but she probably still feels it and it would probably explain any feelings she's having." Rachel said honestly.

"What? Because I'm so hard to love under normal circumstances?" Jacob feigned hurt and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Be honest with her. You have been up to this point. Don't fuck it up." She said and squeezed his arm. "Now get out of my house." She smiled as she spoke and Jacob laughed. _Fuckin' Rachel._

Jacob pulled up to Sydney's house in his truck, turning the lights off and sat in the truck for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly he was even going to say to her. He wanted to tell her about the leeches, the sorta-imprint, that he actually was having feelings for her in addition to the imprint, but above all, he just wanted to just _talk_. To get to know her.

He knocked on the door, and she opened it quickly, light rushing out from behind her, casting her in a warm glow. She was wearing the same black shirt but had changed into yoga pants and Jacob was immediately and immensely grateful for their creation. The pants hugged her curves in ways that he had only imagined doing with his hands. He shook the growing inappropriate thoughts from his head, realizing that he had been staring for a few seconds without actually saying anything.

"Hey." Was all he could get out. _Fucking smooth._

"Come on in." She smiled and opened the door wider, turning around to walk to the couch. Jacob had to purposefully ignore the way her hips were swaying as she walked and instead fixated on a spot on the far wall. They both sat down and just looked at each other for a moment.

"I.."  
"So.." They both started and stopped, laughing.

"I feel like a teenager again when I'm around you." Sydney admitted and Jacob laughed in agreement.

"I know the feeling..." His head shook and he threw his arm over the back of the couch, turning to face her. "I wanted to talk to you about a couple things." He began and she smiled minutely and just continued looking at him with her beautiful green eyes.

"So, the problem has been taken care of but there were vampires here last night." He said and she nodded in understanding. Jacob was confused how she knew but continued on, knowing he could ask later. "It was the Cullen's and Bella wanted to see Charlie." Sydney's face immediately grew concerned and Jacob shook his head, answering her unasked question. "We wouldn't let them anywhere near Forks or the rez. It's just too dangerous and they have burned those bridges one too many times. I just wanted to tell you so you were aware of what was going on." She smiled gratefully.

"Rachel had told me, in her own way of course." Sydney laughed lightly and Jacob snorted.

"I'm sure it was nothing but well-spoken and informative." He joked and Sydney laughed her tinkling laugh, filling the air around them.

"It was more along the lines of castrating Paul if he died." She shrugged and Jacob noticed she subtly moved closer to him. He didn't know if it was unconscious or not but he would take it.

"I didn't realize it was the Cullen's. Was it just Bella or were there more of them?" She asked, staring deep into his eyes.

"It was a few of them. Bella and her husband, if you can even call their marriage real. And four others. They left after we told them they weren't welcome. Well, after Leah gave them a verbal beat-down." He explained and they both laughed quietly.

He picked his hand up off the back of the couch and twirled a curly strand of her hair around his finger, rubbing its softness between his thumb and finger. He saw how the light picked up red flecks in her hair, shining against the lamp's light and he was mesmerized by it.

She cleared her throat and Jacob's eyes snapped to hers. He dropped her hair and noticed she was smiling.

"Was there anything else you wanted to tell me about before you got so distracted by my hair?" She smirked and Jacob chuckled.

"Honestly, I just want to get to know you more." He admitted and picked up that bouncy curl again. She laughed and settled her shoulder into the back of the couch.

"What would you like to know?" She asked and Jacob thought for a moment. "Just tell me about your life, where you've been, where you've lived, I wanna hear more travel stories." He answered and she pursed her pink lips. Jacob felt his dick twitch at the sight and he forced his eyes to stare at the spot right above her head.

"Let's see…um, I was born in Montana. I think we talked about this at the cook out a few weeks ago but I moved to 14 states by my 18th birthday because my dad was in the military. After high school I had caught the travel bug so I went anywhere and everywhere I could. I would work doubles for months on end to afford these trips and would usually end up staying in those countries three times as long as I originally thought." She seemed to get lost in her memories and Jacob smiled as he watched her.

"Did that happen a lot?" He asked and she nodded, laughing softly.

"I used to go to Central America a lot and there was one time I had started in Belize and somehow ended up in Panama a few months later with probably 6 US dollars to my name. I had resigned myself, legitimately, to the idea that I would just stay in Panama and teach until I saved up enough to fly somewhere else. One day I was in a market and met this girl who was crying as she walked through the aisles. I caught up with her, wanting to make sure she was okay and it turned out her fiancé had dumped her and left her alone in Panama. She had an extra ticket to Boston and was looking for a roommate, so I went with her. One of the craziest things I have ever done. I just…up and left and hopped on a plane with a total stranger, moved in with her."

"Wait, really?" Jacob asked incredulously, kind of shocked to see this side of Sydney.

"Yeah. We ended up living together for almost 6 months. She's still one of my closest friends. She ended up traveling to Europe and fell in love with a boy over there. They're married now but it was just crazy how it all turned out." She said, sighing.

"That's insane…what if she would have been crazy? What if she would have like, I don't know, robbed you or something?" He asked, trying to wrap his mind around the story. Sydney just looked at him with her eyebrow raised.

"If you're freaking out about this story, remind me not to tell you about the time I got bit by a poisonous spider…" She started and Jacob laughed, his worry seeming to fade. He knew he was being ridiculous. It had all happened already and she was here now. She was safe and she was here sitting next to him.

"Okay, lay it on me." He said and in a brazen move, pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She settled in and got comfortable before starting, "So it all started when I was hiking in Honduras…"

Hours passed, Jacob and Sydney just telling stories and laughing at each other's past mistakes and blunders, Jacob was having so much fun he completely lost track of time. For the past few days his mind and body had been on overdrive, constantly moving and calculating and exerting. But in this moment, with Sydney's head resting against his chest, her soft breaths coming in and out of her body, his mind was calm and his body was at peace. It may not be a true imprint but damn, this woman could work wonders on him.

He let his head fall back and let sleep overtake him.

"Hey sleepyhead." He heard Sydney whisper into his ear and it was the most beautiful voice to wake up to. He kept his eyes closed and pulled her closer, mumbling, "it's not time yet."

She giggled into his chest and started tracing patterns onto his pecs. "M'what time is it?" He asked, yawning, his voice deep and low. She shifted slightly and he could feel her hair falling across his face.

"7:12" She answered and Jacob's eyes reluctantly opened. He took a second to adjust to the dull sunlight coming through the windows around the living room before looking down to where Sydney was laying. He could only see the top of her head so he hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face towards him.

"That's the first time I've slept past 5am in 3 years." He said, both feeling and sounding surprised. Her eyes knitted together in the adorable way that they did when she was thinking hard about something.

"That must be _torture._ " She replied with sympathy and Jacob chuckled. "I mean, really, the best part about the weekend is sleeping in."

"It's a wolf thing I guess, no one else can either." He said, his gravelly voice rumbling around in his chest. She laid her head against his chest and yawned.

"I was gonna say we could sleep for a few more hours in my bed, but I have to kick you out soon. I have to work at the diner today." Sydney replied and Jacob nodded.

"I should get back to the rez. I'm working on a few cars that need to be done today." He stated and she looked up at him.

"Well, the offer stands for the future." She smiled sleepily and Jacob could feel his arousal growing.

"Are you, dare I say it, offering a date?" He asked with mock surprise and she gasped dramatically.

"In your dreams, pup." She replied sassily and Jacob let out a hearty laugh, his chest shaking her as well. "Now that you've offended me, get out of my house so I can go back to bed." She said and started to get up but Jacob reached out and pulled her back down on top of him.

She was laying flush against him and her face was inches from his. He reached forward and tucked her hair behind her ears before kissing her softly. They both had morning breath but Jacob couldn't care, he was so focused on the feel of her tongue on his, their mouths moving together. He would have happily kept that kiss going for the remainder of the day but Sydney pulled away, smiling.

"Well then." She said, placing a small peck on his lips before standing up and offering her hand. "As wonderful as that was, my bed is calling my name." She winked and Jacob's dick jumped with it. _Jesus._ He sat up to a seated position and took a second before standing up his frame towering over hers. She wasn't a small woman but she was still a foot shorter than he was. He wrapped his arms around her, ignoring her outstretched hand and pressed his body to hers, resting his face on the top of her head and breathed in her beautiful scent.

"I'll see you soon?" He asked to her hair and she nodded.

For the rest of the day, Jacob couldn't seem to get rid of the smile that had planted itself on his mouth.

 _Leah, could you help me with something later?_ Jacob asked later that evening as he and Leah were patrolling and Leah agreed. _Great, once we phase out, we can talk about it._

They finished their last two laps each wrapped in their own thoughts, her tangible words permeating through Jacob's head, memories of this morning floating through his own head space. As he phased back near one of their bins, he pulled out a pair of shorts and a dress and threw it in Leah's wolf's direction. The dress landed on her snout and her large eyes rolled as she shook her giant head, the dress falling to the ground. Once they were both clothed, Jacob just looked at Leah for a moment.

"You know I'm sorry." He said after a few moments and Leah's lips pursed. "I had no choice. I didn't know why they were here and you've always been one of our strongest."

"I know. Doesn't mean I'm not disappointed." She replied. "It's not about you or me though, it's about the pack and about the safety of the rez. I get it. There was always a little part of me that knew it wasn't the end, that would have been too good to be true." She continued, stretching her arms above her head.

"Does this mess things up for you and Caleb? I know you guys were wanting to start a family…" Jacob knew to tread lightly here, Leah had only revealed to Jacob that they were trying for a family recently and how important it was to Leah. She had always wanted a family, even when she younger and dating Sam, but now that she had a life outside the rez and a husband that loved her, it made sense to start one now. She just sighed deeply and shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no fucking idea. No one does. We'll just keep trying and if it happens, it happens." She was trying so incredibly hard to sound like her heart wasn't splitting into deep crevasses as the words flowed from her mouth, Jacob knew, but they had broken down too often in front of each other to ever fool the other. So, Jacob did what he knew how to do best.

He reached out and took her into his arms, holding her tight and she hugged him fiercely back. Unspoken hurt flooding from her every pore as she just breathed into him. When Jacob thought back on how their friendship had started, it was a moment similar to this. She had been upset and Jacob had just held her just like this even though she had resisted at first but he held tight, he held her while she cried for her love lost, her life lost, her father lost, her future lost. And now, here they were again, mourning a future that may never happen. Leah had so much stolen from her and then had been cast aside so often by her own pack, an outcast amongst a group of outcasts. She had come back from it all, shown them all how to be better people, how to grow from such devastating loss.

She patted his back and they separated. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? Surely it wasn't about my menstruation cycle." She joked, trying to ease the tension and Jacob was grateful.

"Nah, I was gonna see if you could help me out. This has all just been so chaotic and it seems like the wives and imprints are having to do double duty with work and all the kids and I want them to have a break. So, I was thinking of a beach day. Me, you, Seth watch the kids and everyone else gets the afternoon off, spend time alone with whoever they want. Maybe just let Emily, Rachel, Shea, and Kim sleep." He said as they started walking towards Jacob's house where Leah's car was parked. She had been staying at the rez the past couple days just to make patrol easier.

"Yeah, definitely, when did you wanna do it?" Leah asked and Jacob answered, "Tomorrow." Leah chortled.

"Okay, yeah. I'll probably bring Caleb down too, just so I can spend time with him and so the kids can get to know him more. They only see him a few times a year anyways." Leah said, opening her car door. "We'll be back here at like 8?" She asked as she hopped in and Jacob nodded, his hand on her door, holding it open. Leah smiled and started her car. "See ya later then."

Jacob closed her door and waved her off before walking inside his house. He hadn't been alone, truly alone, in days he realized as the silence settled in around him. Well, the relative silence. There was still the neighbor's TV playing some stupid sitcom next door, there was a drain that was dripping in the back bathroom, there was a dog a few houses down that was barking at nothing. Nothing was ever _silent_.

He took a few minutes to go through his mail that was on the counter.  
 _Credit Card Bill.  
Electric Bill.  
Final Notice.  
Final Notice.  
Unaddressed Letter._

Jacob's brow furrowed as he palmed the envelope, immediately bringing it to his nose to try to figure out if he knew the smell. His nose was immediately met with the scent of her. Fresh rain and pine trees, flowers blooming and the warmth of the sun. _Syd._ But it was mixed with someone else…Kyra. Their scents mingled together in a beautiful symphony. He closed his eyes and took a deep, indulgent breath.

He slid his finger under the seal of the envelope and it flopped open lazily. A small piece of paper was the only thing inside. On it, was a drawing that looked like it was a collaboration of Kyra's straight lines and Sydney's intricate and detailed sketches. It was the forest, a few trees scattered around and a wolf standing in the middle of a woman drawn by Kyra and a little girl drawn by Sydney. The wolf was a mixture of the two, their styles blending and joining in a harmony that created such…art. Jacob smiled fully, his lips pulling back from his teeth. _How appropriate_. He looked at the small piece of paper for a moment longer, committing it to memory before hanging it on the freezer.

The next morning he woke up at 5, his body refusing to amply rest when he needed it so desperately and made a quick breakfast for himself, waiting to make Kyra's knowing she wouldn't be awake for a couple hours before phasing quickly to check in on the boys patrolling.

 _How are you guys doing?_ He asked and their exhaustion was so prevalent it was almost palpable in their minds. _That bad?_ He joked.

 _We're almost done, it'll definitely be nice to sleep in a bed though._ Michael thought.

 _Anything out of the ordinary?_ Jacob asked and both nodded thought their answer at the same time. _No._

 _Okay well, good news is Seth, Leah and I are gonna take all the kids to the beach so you can have time to just sleep or be with your imprint without any interruptions._ He thought to Michael and Sam and Jacob could feel their gratefulness bleeding through.

 _Thanks, man._ Sam said simply. _No problem. Just have your kids fed ready to go at 8am, we'll come get 'em._ Jacob replied and finished by saying _Call if anything happens and hang in there. Just a couple more hours._

Jacob phased back in his backyard, the sun slowly starting to peek its way through the clouds. It would be a great day for the beach.

After finally getting everyone together, which was no small task, they made their way to the beach and set up camp. Kids were running, giggling, laughing, and Jacob couldn't help but smile looking out at the chaos that was ensuing.

"Auntie Leah! Come pway!" Little Anna cried out from by the way, her stubby legs trying to carry her as fast as she was wanting to go. Leah's head fell back as she laughed and sprinted towards the water, scooping up the small child and blowing a raspberry into her stomach.

"Aunt Leah! Come look what Tobey and I are making!" Will shouted from a short distance away.

"No, Aunt Leah come look'it what I'm doing!" Kyra yelled from behind Jacob, her hands shoved into the sand building the foundation for what looked like the largest sandcastle Jacob had ever seen. They had only been there a few minutes…how…

"Apparently you've been missed." Jacob mused and Leah shrugged, the large smile painted onto her face before running towards Will and Tobey, trying to give everyone as much attention as they wanted.

"Apparently their Uncle Seth's attention just doesn't cut it anymore." Seth said melodramatically as he laid the back of his hand on his forehead, pretending to be distraught.

"They see you all the time. They see her like, once every few months. Relax, you're probably still the favorite." Jacob reassured him and Seth laughed.

"Plus, she just has a way about her with these kids, don't you think? They all are just drawn to her…" Caleb added, watching his wife with adoration and love.

"Daddy!" Kyra yelled excitedly, her toothy grin poking through. "Help me make this!" She ordered, setting up her plastic buckets in size order and scooping mounds of sand into them.

"Let me get the babies set up then I'll help with whatever you need, little one." He replied, maneuvering the strollers so that they were closer to where Kyra had set up her proverbial shop. The slight breeze that had been blowing from the north shifted slightly and carried a new scent with it. Jacob's heart thudded through its next beat, and his head jerked up when the scent filled his nose.

Sydney.

She was wearing jeans and a tank top with a flannel flowing open as she walked towards them.

"MS DELAHUNT!" 3 voices yelled in unison and Sydney's eyes widened as Tobey, Will and Kyra all ran full speed towards her. She opened her arms and they plowed into her, knocking her to the ground and they all fell into the sand, laughter getting carried through the breeze into the crashing waves.

"So you're the ever popular Sydney?" Leah asked, her arm outstretched to grab Sydney's. Sydney just laughed.

"Oh no, please tell me they haven't been talking about me." She said with a blush and Leah laughed loudly.

"No such luck." She replied and Sydney groaned.

"You must be Leah!" Sydney said after a second and her eyes widened before she reached out to shake Leah's hand now that they were both standing. Leah took it and rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, please tell me they've only been saying nice things." Leah mimicked in good jest and Sydney waved her off.

"Please…these kids think you're Wonder Woman. I can't tell you how many pictures I've seen from kids in my class who have drawn you or written about you for projects." Sydney said and Leah's head cocked to the side in curiosity. "Little Jedidiah, he once literally drew you as Wonder Woman, I have to say your reputation precedes you but in the best way possible."

Jacob could feel his pride bleeding onto his face. His best friend, Leah, who needed to be reminded just how incredible she was and his imprint, giving her hard evidence of just how appreciated and loved Leah really was.

"See Auntie Leah? I told you you're important." Kyra added, looking between the two women with awe, her hands planted on her hips in a gesture that was a bit too familiar…Emily. Jacob laughed to himself as he realized that his daughter was turning into a mini-Emily. _Could be worse, she could be turning into her mother._ His thoughts jeered and Jacob shook the negative thought from his mind.

"Ms. Delahunt, Auntie Leah will you help me build this?" Tobey asked from his spot in the sand and the women looked at each other, laughed, then went over to the child. Jacob had no idea what had just happened but he was glad they were getting along.

As the morning went on and the sun started poking through the clouds, Seth joined them armed with bags filled with food. Jacob was on baby duty, taking care of Abbie and Kaya who were just learning how to crawl around and were insistent on putting _everything_ in their mouth. "No Kaya, sand doesn't go in your mouth, remember? We've had this discussion. Plus, it doesn't taste good." He said for the umpteenth time.

Seth plopped down next to Jacob and they both looked over to where Leah, Caleb, and Sydney were running through the water with the rest of the kids, splashing and laughing as much as the kids were. "How'd you get stuck with baby duty?" Seth asked as he pulled out prepacked sandwiches and chips that he had retrieved from his house. Jacob just shrugged and pulled Abbie's fist full of sand away from her mouth.

"I don't know if they're hungry or they just actually enjoy eating sand." Jacob said, somewhat joking, somewhat bewildered.

"It's called mouthing." Sydney said, somewhat out of breath as she walked towards where they were sitting. "It's a baby's way of exploring the world. They want to touch it, smell it, taste it. They'll stop eventually but it's their way of figuring out what's happening around them." She explained.

Jacob couldn't take his eyes off her. Her hair was wet and curly, dripping at the ends and her face was flushed from laughing. Her clothes were damp, the end of her jeans rolled up but still soaked. She wiped sand from her hands after she sat down with them and looked over at the babies.

"Whatever it is, it's still weird." Seth said with a shrug and finished pulling food out. "LUNCH TIME." He yelled without warning and Sydney jumped. Jacob shot a look over at Seth, his ears ringing, but Seth looked smug and void of remorse.

Before Jacob could say anything, Sydney reached up and smacked Seth lightly in the back of the head. "A little warning next time, yeah?" She said looking just as smug as he had a few seconds ago. Seth just laughed and waved her off.

"Well you'll fit _right_ in." Leah said to Sydney. "Say, you plan on staying a while? Maybe now that you know about the imprint you'll be a part of our ever-dysfunctional family?" Leah asked and Jacob froze.

 _God damn it._


	14. Chapter 13

"I was-" Jacob started.  
"She meant-" Seth tried.  
"I didn't know she didn't know!" Leah said, throwing her hands up in the air exasperated. "Why haven't you told her?!" Leah turned to face Jacob, her hands clenched at her hips, very closely resembling Emily, Sydney thought.

Sydney cleared her throat and smiled.

"Okay, so it seems as though Jake and I need to take a walk?" She asked simply and Jacob squared his shoulders and nodded. He looked out towards the water and took a deep breath before looking back Sydney with an intensity like she'd only ever seen in his wolf form.

They both started walking towards the water and Sydney could feel Jacob trying to form the sentences he wanted to say. To put him out of his misery, she interrupted his rather loud train of thought.

"Okay, so if I heard correctly, you imprinted on me? Which, if I'm to take what biology I know into account, is like what baby ducks do when they're first born and they imprint on their mother for their safety? Which means…." She trailed off, suddenly realizing what had sounded great in her head, sounded terrible out loud. She didn't want him to think of her as his _mother_. Not when the things she so badly wanted to do to him were…she cleared her throat again to shake the thought from her mind.

Jacob stopped and turned to face her, and Sydney could see that there were darker clouds forming in the distance and their somewhat sunny day seemed to be coming to a close.

"Syd…" He said before grazing the back of his finger along her cheek. She instinctually leaned into it and closed her eyes before she was even aware of what she was doing. _What is up with that?_ She thought to herself and Jacob seemed to answer her unspoken thoughts.

"The imprint is a pull, it's been passed down for generations through the wolf but we're not entirely sure why it happens. There's a lot of theories as to why the wolves pick the people they do, I'm sure my dad could talk all day about why he thinks they're there. I personally think they happen because we need someone to balance out the parts of ourselves that we're lacking in. Emily brings out the kindness in Sam, Kim brings out the louder side of Jared, and Rachel…well, Rachel and Paul just work for each other in their own way." Sydney smiled softly at this.

"And I, well…I imprinted on you but it's different. Where the rest of the pack feels this innate and intense pull to be with their imprint, I feel connected to you but it's more…subdued?" He said, mulling over the word before shrugging. "It's not as…much…as the rest." Sydney nodded slowly, her eyebrows coming together in the middle as she tried to work out all of the information being laid out before her.

"So…" She started and it was Jacob's turn to clear his throat.

"So, for you that means…well, it can mean whatever you want it to. Don't feel pressured or obligated to act or be any different because of this. When it comes down to it, I want to make you happy and whatever that means going forward, I'll do whatever I can to make you as happy as you can possibly be."

Sydney smiled fully now and reached up to touch the braid that was ever-present on his shoulder.

"I am happy. And thank you for telling me all of this. To be totally honest though, it's a lot. I may need some time just to think it over." She said finally, looking up to meet his warm brown eyes.

He nodded and took a deep breath, relief seemed to be flowing from him. Sydney stifled a small laugh and Jacob's head snapped down.

"What?" He asked and Sydney let out a full belly of laughter.

"What?!" He asked again, a smile forming on his lips. Sydney laughed harder still, clutching her stomach and she could feel the tears welling in the corner of her eyes.

"It's just….so….ridiculous….wolf…imprint…." She gasped out between laughs.

Jacob's booming laugh started alongside hers which made both of them laugh even harder.

After a few moments of catching their breath, they looked at each other and smiled. "It is pretty ridiculous, huh?" He asked and she nodded, holding out her hand for his and they started walking back towards the rest of the group.

As the day winded down and the kids all passed out in various places around Jacob's living room, Sydney took her leave and headed home. Her thoughts were racing from the earlier conversation.

What did it mean for them? What did it mean for her? What did it mean for Jacob? Kyra? Would it affect their lives more than he let on? Would she have to live here forever because of it?

It was a constant, streaming cycle of thoughts that just looped over and over again in her mind until she got home and continued as she took a shower. It wasn't until she laid down to sleep and her phone beeped that the thoughts died down.

 _The imprint doesn't change anything. I'd still like to just get to know you more before we make any big decisions. I hope you know that. Sweet dreams._

And just like that, he had said all he needed to quell the burgeoning sense of worry that had started.

She shifted back down into her bed and took a deep breath, knowing that no matter how tired she was, it wouldn't stop what was about to come.

The world around her was still in vivid color but the edges had started to blur. Her focus was shifting and she could feel the way in which she walked the earth was forever changed. There were moments when she would feel herself withdrawing, could feel the isolation creeping into her mind, taunting her with memories. There were moments when she could feel herself be a semblance of normal, when she would go an entire day without thinking of what had happened to her. But then, when night came, she was left alone to deal with the emotional trauma of the past.

She was left to fight those demons, to make peace with them and show them they weren't welcome. She tried everything she could think of. She tried hours-long talks with her mother who would love her in a way that only a mother could, an all-encompassing love that surpassed anything she had ever known. While it helped, it left her missing her mother more than anything else. She tried channeling her energy into her students, giving every ounce she had to her class. But that only left her so drained at the end of the day that she wasn't able to give herself the attention she needed. She tried running, she tried writing, she tried reading, she tried meditating. Each one helped in its own way but often times left her defeated or trapped in her own mind. She needed time, she needed to heal.

She knew not to just jump right into another relationship, knew that it would only lead to problems later on but it was hard not to want to. It was hard not to erase the memories of pain with new, happy ones with someone else because wouldn't that just be easier? To live a life with Jacob that would instill joy and love into her now dark world. It may be easier, but it wasn't right or fair. Wasn't fair to him, wasn't fair to herself.

The memories of Brice didn't weigh her down during the day, she was surrounded by children and silliness and chaos and love. She welcomed those feelings with open arms, let those feelings fill her up so that she may lean on them when she couldn't seem to stand on her own. It was at night that she could feel the torment slowly filling her, the thoughts and emotions that she had suppressed coming to life and dancing around her head in a way that scared Sydney more than she could ever say. She would lay in bed and tears would fall slowly as she counted down the minutes until she finally fell into sleep. But sleep was a monster in of itself, dreams creating worlds far worse than the one she was living herself.

It had been a few weeks since the day that had plagued her mind had occurred, every day Sydney felt a little bit more like herself but there were still so many days that she just…couldn't. She had knee-jerk reactions she couldn't control, she had thoughts of inadequacy that came from nowhere, she had monumental frustrations with herself, for letting things get so out of hand.

She was such a strong and independent woman before she had met Brice, why had she let herself slip so far from the woman she was? These questions floated through her mind, bringing her down into murky depths that she couldn't see through.

What frustrated her most though, was that she didn't feel like she was all that bothered by the attack to begin with, but the more time she spent alone the more she realized just how much it had impacted her.

It wasn't until Ayana came to visit one day, a seemingly innocent house call, just two friends drinking coffee, that Sydney realized how badly she needed to talk to someone. _Anyone._

"How are the nights?" Ayana had asked after Sydney had returned the small plates to the sink and she had frozen in place. The nights were terrible, endless, terrifying, dark, pressing, consuming, ceaseless.

"Not great." She replied instead. Ayana just stared at Sydney, a deep and compassionate stare that went straight through to Sydney's soul, or at least, it felt like it did.

"Yeah, they're awful." Sydney said with a shrug and sat back down at the tiny table in her kitchen.

"That was the hardest part for me. I would be fine during the day because I was doing stuff to keep busy, letting my mind wander in any direction but the direction of _him._ But as soon as that sun went down, and honestly it still happens sometimes, I felt like the world was collapsing around me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think straight. I was so scared that he would be there, waiting for me." Ayana let the words flow from her mouth like warm molasses, wrapping Sydney in comradery. "The rational part of myself knew that he wasn't there, knew that he didn't care enough to show up but there was always a part of me that assumed the very worst was happening at all times. Especially when I was alone and especially at night."

Sydney let the words she was about to speak mull on her tongue for a moment before opening her mouth. "The dreams are the worst part for me. It's like…I finally clear my head long enough to fall asleep and everything that I had pushed through to get to that quiet place is drudged up in my dreams and it's suffocating." Sydney picked at the peeling laminate that was fraying at the edges of the table while she spoke, not quite ready to look up at Ayana.

"I know that feeling." Ayana said simply and reached her hand out to grab Sydney's. "But know that you're not alone. I know it feels that way, but you're not. I am here. Jacob is here. Seth is here. Kim and Rachel and Emily and all of the pack…we are here for you. And you best believe those boys would do anything you asked them to. We all adore you and we want you to be safe and happy. It's going to be a long road but you are strong and you can handle this."

Sydney small smile tugged at her lips. "Thanks Ayana." She said quietly, finally looking up at her friend who was just smiling back at her, her beautiful brown eyes boring through the wall Sydney had built up around herself.

"Let's watch a movie, yeah?" Ayana asked and made her way to the living room, leaving Sydney at the table with her thoughts.

This was a moment she would remember for years to come. She felt like she was at a crossroads, like she was at a point in her life where she had to choose. She could live the rest of her life forever being the victim of domestic abuse or she could live her life as a _survivor_ of abuse. She knew in her heart of hearts that those memories would never be completely gone but she could help herself, she could empower herself, she could thrive. Sydney pushed up from the table and walked towards the living room, having decided. She would thrive.

As the weeks went on, Sydney reached out for help. She was seeing a therapist in Port Angeles once a week who was helping immensely, her mother was coming to visit for a while to see Sydney's life in Forks, she was volunteering her time on the reservation as much as she could and had really bonded with the young women there. She felt like things were finally starting to get back on track.

Her therapist provided a safe space for her thoughts to just run free, well, mostly.

"So, this Jacob…what are you feeling for him?" Her therapist asked one session.

Sydney tugged at her sweater's sleeves, pulling them over her hands as she answered. "I think….I think I'm feeling like something could happen there. But I don't want to jump into anything. He's…wow. He's the kind of guy I could honestly see myself marrying one day. Everything with Jacob is just so….easy and comfortable. I think after having the utterly fucked up relationship that I did with Brice, it's nice to just…be."

"What makes Jacob different from Brice?" Her therapist asked and Sydney had to suppress the urge to laugh. They couldn't be more different. _Plus Jacob is a fucking werewolf._ The sassy comment floated through her mind.

"There's no comparison between the two." Sydney replied. "Jacob is different. Jacob is kind and caring and wonderful and supportive and strong and he's the kind of person who gives his whole soul to whomever asks. Plus he's really not bad to look at." Sydney could feel the smile growing on her lips.

The truth was, Sydney was falling for Jacob and she knew that Jacob felt the same way. They had talked about it a few times, both realizing how they were feeling but neither wanted to jump into something they would later regret. It was the most mature and also the most frustrating decision she had ever made.

Sydney felt safe to say that her life had started to resemble normal again, that was, until she realized that she still had so much further left to go. It was a Thursday night and Sydney was finishing up her shift at the diner after the very short dinner "rush" when her phone beeped signaling a text.

 _Movie night? Kyra asked for you and I may or may not have put the idea in her head._ Jacob sent and Sydney smiled as she read it walking towards her car, her shoulders hunched against the rain.

 _Sounds great, let me just run home and change and I'll head over._ She typed back.

The drive over to Jacob's house was a time for her to think. The pattering of the rain against her windshield always seemed to put her in a trance and she was able to navigate that winding road on autopilot as she sorted through her thoughts.

Kyra was standing on the small front porch waiting for Sydney as she pulled in, her headlights beaming onto the small girl who was waving wildly with a smile on her face. Sydney laughed and her heart fluttered at the sight. As she popped up her rain jacket's hood over her head getting ready to make the mad dash to the front door, she jumped out of her seat when Jacob was suddenly standing outside her door with an umbrella.

Her heart beat could be heard in her ears and it took her a second to collect her thoughts. Jacob pulled the door open with a smile that quickly turned to a concerned frown when he saw her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, holding his hand out. Sydney's hand was still on her heaving chest and she nodded jerkily in reply.

"Yeah, you just scared me." She managed to get out. He kept his hand in place, waiting for her to make the first move.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly and she forced a smile.

"It's really okay, I just wasn't expecting you to be right there, that's all." While that was the truth, it went so much deeper than that, her fight or flight response was kicking in and her mind seemed to think anything that scared her even remotely was dangerous. It was something she had noticed about herself the past few weeks and it was starting to get frustrating.

She took his hand and hopped out of her car, looking up at him to reassure him with a smile. He wore a mask of concern on his face and Sydney wanted nothing more than to hold his face and smooth out the worry lines that had formed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and Sydney swatted his arm.

"I'm _fine._ I'm more annoyed with myself than anything. I get scared so easily lately and it makes for an interesting time when you live alone." She joked and Jacob stopped walking abruptly, pulling Sydney to a stop with him.

"What do you mean? Are you okay? Was someone there? I can send someone to patrol…" He started rambling and Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Jacob, Jesus….stop it. I appreciate your concern but I just meant that I freak myself out sometimes, no one is at my house. If I need your help, I'll call. I promised, remember?" She said and tugged on his arm that she was holding. "Now let's get inside before Kyra explodes." She jerked her head towards where Kyra was _still_ bouncing in excitement on the porch. "Also, quick question, why don't _you_ jump up and down like that for me when I get here?" She asked with a smirk and Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Don't you start…" He mumbled and Sydney poked his ribs as they made their way up the stairs to the house.

"HI MISS DELAHUNT!" Kyra exclaimed and jumped into Sydney's arms.

"Hello!" Sydney replied with matching enthusiasm. "Which movie are we watching tonight?" She asked.

"Daddy said we couldn't watch Moana again…" Jacob and Kyra looked at each other and both stuck their tongue out at each other simultaneously. Sydney barked out a laugh as Kyra continued, "So I wanna watch Anastasia or Finding Dory. Which one do you like more?"

Sydney waited to answer until they were all inside and shrugging off their coats. "How about Anastasia? I loved that movie when I was younger!" Kyra nodded enthusiastically and jetted off towards the tv. Jacob's tall form turned to face Sydney and a smile broke out on his face.

"Hi." He said simply and leaned down to kiss her, she couldn't help the goofy grin that matched his as they snuck a quick kiss before Kyra could see.

"Hey." She said as they broke apart.

"How was the diner?" He asked and Sydney shrugged.

"You know how it is, same ten people eating the same meal and gossiping worse than hens. Madge said to tell you hello and to ask if you have any news on her beloved Betty?" Sydney said with a questioning tone. She didn't know what Madge had meant when she had asked Sydney to pass on the message but she could only assume it was about a vehicle.

"I'll give her a call in the morning, I don't know how much longer Betty has." He said with dramatic disappointment, shaking his head as he held his hand woefully over his chest. "To be fair, we've given that thing more last legs that I can count."

"Ohhh, she is not gonna like you. She was just boasting about you tonight too, 'oh that Jacob, he's a miracle worker. If anyone can fix it, he can. Jacob Jacob Jacob.'" Sydney taunted and Jacob donned a smug grin.

"Well, you know me…" He said and straightened his shoulders, the picture of confidence.

"Oh, for Pete's sake...let's go watch Anastasia, shall we, oh mighty hero?" Sydney teased and pinched his arm. His smug grin immediately slipped from his lips and he sighed, muttering incoherently.

Kyra insisted on sitting in between them and promptly fell asleep ten minutes into the movie, her arms and legs draped over both of them.

"I don't want to wake her up but I really should get home. I want to get to school early for a special project tomorrow." Sydney whispered as Anastasia and Dimitri danced on their river boat, signaling the end of the movie.

"Got something planned for the kids?" He asked as he picked up Kyra with ease and she immediately settled into his arms like he did this all the time. Sydney softly smiled as she saw it happen.

"Yeah, since the weather will be nice tomorrow I'm going to take the class down to the beach and we're going to do a science lesson on ecology and biology then we'll be kind of doing a beach clean-up but then making art projects with the things we find…it sounds weirder than it is." She explained as she shrugged her rain coat back on. Jacob was smiling at her with such warmth and kindness when she turned to say goodbye.

"It sounds incredible. And you, you are an incredible teacher. These kids, especially this one," He bounced the sleeping Kyra in his arms, "are lucky to have you in their lives. Get home safe and shoot me a text before you go to sleep." He said as he leaned down to kiss Sydney on the forehead.

They stared at each other for a second, neither wanting to move. Sydney reached out and fingered the braid that lay on his shoulder and chest before looking into his eyes. "Good night Jacob." She whispered.

She stole one final glance at the front door after she had gotten into her car and started the engine and there he was, standing in the same way he had been all those weeks ago, with the ambient light from the house shining behind him, his arms holding Kyra and a smile on his face that struck Sydney's soul straight to the depths of hell. He was going to be the death of her.

Early the next morning, Sydney made her way to the school to prepare for the day she had planned. She still had piles of paperwork to fill out and she wanted to ensure everything was in order, for such a small school there sure were a lot of hoops to jump through just to take her students to the beach down the road.

She wanted the kids to feel as connected to nature as they could, wanted them to understand why the landscape around them acted as it did and why it was so important to take care of it. She knew that through their heritage, there was a deeper appreciation for the land they resided on and she wanted to cultivate that appreciation.

She had enlisted the help of Ayana and Leah to be crowd control and the day turned out to be the best therapy Sydney could have ever asked for. By the last hour of the school day, her cheeks physically hurt from smiling and every single one of her students had expressed, with either a proclamation or an exclamation, that they enjoyed every second of it. Leah and Ayana had proven to be the heroes of the day and the students had loved getting the attention from the awe-inspiring females. It couldn't have gone any better if she had tried and by the time they had all walked back to the school; they were sweating, smiling, sandy, and too happy to care.

"Well aren't you all quite the sight." Seth said after all the students had been picked up, their excitement palpable in the air and their mouths trying to tell the stories of their day faster than their lips could keep up with. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and watching the three women; Ayana, Leah, and Sydney as they had collapsed onto the floor in a laughing heap.

"Shut it Seth." Leah mumbled from the bottom of the pile, "I forgot how much energy these kids had…."

"Yeah, here I was thinking I was getting a fun day at the beach but noooo, instead I have sand in places that shouldn't…." Ayana started but was cut off by Jacob's voice.

"WE FORGOT OUR BACKPACK." He said a little too loudly, cutting off whatever Ayana was about to say and the three women fell into laughter again.

"Let's leave Jacob and Sydney to 'find Kyra's backpack' shall we?" Leah teased and clambered up from the ground as Sydney swatted her arm in embarrassment.

"What are we, in high school?" Jacob asked exasperated.

"I mean, you're the one who 'forgot her backpack' chief." Seth said as he ducked through the doorway, avoiding Jacob's backhand. "And just happened to forget Kyra in the truck!" He yelled from down the hall.

Sydney brushed off her pants as she stood up and looked at Jacob.

"Hey." She said with a smile.

"Hey yourself, beautiful." He replied and crossed the room in three long strides, taking Sydney up into his arms and enveloping her in his warmth. "I heard you had quite the day today." He whispered to the top of her head and she nodded into his chest.

"It was such a fun day but I'm pooped. The kids loved it though, so that's all that matters." She said, pulling back from the broad expanse of his unnaturally muscled chest so that she could look at his face.

"Well, if you're not too tired later, I'd love to see you after work." He smiled his biggest grin, the one that took up his entire face and showed his white teeth. Sydney just laughed and reached her hand up to place it on his cheek.

"Maybe it could even be a date." She teased and Jake gasped dramatically in shock.

"Has she finally broken down? Is she finally saying yes?" He teased right back, their months-long running joke finally paying off.

"Don't push your luck there, mister. I could always change my mind." Sydney said and stuck her tongue out. Jacob let out a booming laugh that reverberated through his chest and Sydney just wanted to settle into that laugh for all of eternity.

"I'll talk to you soon then." He said simply and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering a half second longer than normal.

Sydney watched as he walked away, her heart fluttering against her chest, leaving her to steep in her own emotions to which she didn't know how to feel and honestly in that moment, couldn't care less.


	15. Chapter 14

Thank you to everyone for your continued support! I appreciate it all so much! The songs for this chapter are: "The Few Things" by JP Saxe, "Lost Without You" by Freya Ridlings, and "Sleep" by Joseph and Maia.

Thanks again to theREALladyofthewest, my ride or die, for all of your love and friendship and humor.

* * *

 **Sydney's POV**

"Oooookay, let's try this one more time. What do we think the main point of this story was?" Sydney asked looking out to her classroom full of blank stares. She felt her heart sink.

"Remember how we talked about parts of a story that build up to the main point?" She tried and saw more blank stares. "Think back to yesterday when we talked about-"

"Miss Delahunt?" A voice creaked over the speaker in the ceiling, startling Sydney.

"Yes?" She half squeaked back.

"Could you send Jedidiah to the front office?"

"He'll be on his way shortly." Sydney replied and smiled warmly towards the quiet boy. "I presume you know the way?" She asked and he nodded jerkily. "Come back soon, we'll miss you." She whispered to him as he walked past her.

"Alright let's look at some of the details we liked about this story…"Sydney continued her lesson for a few minutes when a sharp cry then a young voice coming from the hallway yelling "No!" interrupted her. Sydney jerked her head towards the hallway. She put on her best teacher smile and faced the class again. "How about everyone takes out their personal level books and reads at least 6 pages?" She said and walked towards her door.

She wouldn't have ever expected to see what she did when she pulled the door open. It was chaos.

There was Kim kneeling on the linoleum lined ground, her long black hair falling all around her as she held her arms around a screaming Jedidiah. Jedidiah's tear lined face was twisted in agony and Seth was towering over a chubby man in a sweater, Seth's voice calm and even. The sweater man was staring at a spot on the wall behind Seth, seemingly ignoring him which Sydney thought was odd because Seth was directly in front of him. There were two other men in black jackets with "CPS" plastered in bright yellow letters on the front, who were walking towards the scene but trying their best to steer clear of Seth.

Sydney felt torn, she didn't know whether to get involved or to stay with her kids but she took another look at Jedidiah and her heart twisted and before she knew what she was doing, her feet had taken her down the hall and she was kneeling alongside Kim.

"Hey Jed, why don't we go for a walk?" Sydney said softly, warmly.

"My…My….Mom." Jed gasped out and Kim turned with her large, sad eyes towards Sydney and Sydney just knew. His mom. The one that forgot him at school. The one that never signed permission slips. The one that never helped with homework. The one that spent her paychecks on any high she could get her hands on. Meth. Alcohol. Men. Sydney's heart dropped in a way that she had never experienced. What was going to happen to him? Where was he going to go?

Sydney pulled Jedidiah close to her, bringing Kim with him and they both just held him as sobs racked his small frame.

"Sir, please let me take him while this all gets figured out. He doesn't need to miss any more school than he already has and I can provide him a warm bed and a loving home." Sydney heard Seth say to the sweater man. She turned her head and saw that the man was _still_ ignoring Seth. Sydney's brows furrowed in frustration and confusion.

"Excuse me, I believe Mr. Clearwater is speaking to you." Sydney said loudly to the sweater man who snapped his gaze down to her. "What was that?" He asked.

"I said that Mr. Clearwater is speaking to you and has been for quite some time." Sydney said slowly and loudly, sarcastically enunciating her words. The sweater man's face reddened and he shifted his feet.

"Is there anyone I can speak to about the status of this child?" He asked and Sydney resisted every urge in her body to roll her eyes.

"That would be Mr. Clearwater." She said simply.

"Yes, but is there anyone else? We need at least two people who are familiar with this child's needs."

"I'm his teacher and his name is Jedidiah, not 'this child'. If we could maybe have this conversation at another time when we're not drawing a crowd and when he hasn't just found out life-altering news?" She suggested with immediate disdain for the man standing in front of her.

The two jacketed men were now standing directly above Sydney and Kim and Seth let out a small, low whistle, warning them.

"Ma'm, we need to take the child." Said one of the men and Sydney felt her grip tighten around Jedidiah. She realized that she was still sitting on the linoleum floor and her and Kim had created a barricade between little Jed and the rest of the world.

"Mr. Clearwater has already stated that he was willing to care for Jedidiah. He will go with Mr. Clearwater." She said in the most confident voice she could muster but inside she could feel her heart shaking.

"I'm afraid we can't do that at the current time. We will take the child to place where he will be taken care of and placed in a home." The same man said and Sydney became enraged with every word that slipped from his privileged and unknowing mouth.

She pressed her hands over Jed's ears and hissed from between her teeth. "His mother _just_ died. You're really going to take him away from everything he knows and expect him to be okay? At least let him have one night to collect his thoughts and his personal belongings, for god's sake. Mr. Clearwater has already said he can take Jedidiah and-"

The sweater man interrupted her and she just about lost her shit. "We can't let Mr. Clearwater take him because we don't know the living conditions in which he resides. We can't be sure that it will be a safe environment for the child. If you were to take him, however, we might be able to let him go for the nig-" The sweater man couldn't finish his sentence because the front door of the school swung open and there were 5 very large men charging in. Behind them, Billy rolled in with the help of Charlie Swan from Forks.

Seth turned ever so slightly towards the group of men and whispered under his breath. Sydney wouldn't have known he was even talking if she hadn't watched his lips moving. Jacob nodded tersely once and locked eyes with Sydney for a brief second before looking to the sweater man. Sydney watched as Jacob gauged the man in a half of a second and he squared his shoulders before holding his hand out to the man.

"My name is Jacob Black, my father, Billy Black is the chief of the Quileute's and this is Charlie Swan, Chief of police in Forks. We heard there was a bit of commotion so we thought we would just stop by to ensure the safety of all involved." Jacob said in a voice that commanded respect. The man in the sweater stared at Jacob's outstretched hand for a moment before finally taking it.

"I'm James Spatzer, I work with Child Protective Services. I'm assigned to this case and these are my colleagues Aaron and Geoff. We were just telling Miss…." He trailed off and turned towards Sydney.

"Miss Delahunt?" Jacob asked and he seemed to grow even taller and his head tilted ever so slightly, questioning.

James, the sweater man, looked at Sydney for another second then back towards Jacob. "Yes Miss Delahunt, that we have to take the child in question under our protection."

"From what I've heard, both Mr. Clearwater and Miss Delahunt have offered the child a place to stay. Why can he not be granted that?" Jacob asked in a clipped tone.

Sydney cleared her throat and felt the gaze of everyone snap to her. "Why don't we ask Jedidiah what he would like to do instead of deciding for him?" She slowly released her protective grip and Jedidiah's black hair poked out from the cocoon that her and Kim had created.

"Hey Jed, us adults were being really rude, weren't we?" Sydney teased and Jed shrugged, snot running from his nose. "Would you like it if you could stay here in La Push?" She asked gently and he nodded, panic welling in his eyes. "Is there anyone that you would like to stay with?" Jed nodded again and pointed to Seth. Seth nodded and smiled towards little Jed.

"You can stay as long as you'd like, little man." Seth said and Jedidiah started untangling himself from Kim and Sydney and held his arms up towards Seth. Seth picked him up effortlessly and started walking towards his classroom. Sydney stood up too and held her hand out for Kim.

"But that's not….we can't-" James started but was cut off.

"What d'ya say us boys take the rest of this conversation outside and let the teachers get back to doin' what they do best?" Chief Swan said "I'm sure we can let everyone finish out their days before a young boy's life is forever changed, don't you think?" Sydney smiled towards him but he was wearing a face she had never seen on him before. He was angry. She could feel multiple pairs of eyes on her when she turned to Billy who was staring at her with a gentle worry. She mustered a small smile and tore her gaze up towards Jacob who was staring at her with a questioning look.

"I'm fine." She mouthed and he nodded. As she turned to walk back towards her classroom she felt the presence of a large man behind her.

"Mind if I join the 3rd grade for the rest of the day?" Embry asked and Sydney smiled.

"I don't know, think you'll remember that far back? It was what, a 100 years ago?" She joked and Embry scoffed.

"How rude." He said with feigned dramatics as Sydney walked and he ducked back into the classroom. Kyra was standing at the front of the class, her book in her hand and was reading out loud to her peers.

Embry and Sydney both stopped in their tracks and watched as Kyra read to an entranced classroom full of 7 and 8 year old's.

"Ten bucks says they don't pay half as much attention when you read." Embry whispered and it took everything within Sydney not to smack him. She was entranced by the young girl, just as the rest of the class was and she couldn't believe how _proud_ she was. Sydney hugged her arms to her chest and smiled, letting Kyra finish the story she was reading to the class. As Kyra read the last words, she looked towards where Sydney and Embry were standing and her face broke into a guilty smile.

"I'm sorry, it was just getting really loud out there so I wanted to share my book with everyone." Kyra squeaked and Sydney quite literally felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.

"It's quite alright, did everyone enjoy the story that Kyra read? Can we all thank her for reading so nicely for all of us?" Sydney said in her calmest and friendliest voice.

"What happened with Jed?" one of her students asked and she smiled towards the whole classroom.

"He's going to hang out in Mr. Clearwater's class for the rest of the day, he's teaching them about the ecology and biology that we learned at the beach. So why don't we get back to it? I'd like everyone to think for a second about what makes them happy. Think about all the times that you smiled so big you felt like your teeth were gonna fall out. Think about the times when you laughed so hard that your belly hurt. Now I want you to think about what that feeling would look like if it were a real thing, a tangible thing." She fell silent as she looked around the classroom of her tiny humans.

They were so young. Too young to be thrust into a world where they were ripped apart from their families, too young to lose their mother to an addiction, too young. She took a deep breath and continued, "Now, for the rest of the day, I want everyone to work on a way to show everyone else that happiness. It can be a picture or a song or a dance or a sculpture or jokes or a drawing. It can be whatever you want it to be. And that goes for Mr. Call as well." Sydney looked towards Embry who had been sitting at her desk, preparing to put his feet up but a smile broke out on his face and he jumped up.

"I'm gonna paint!" Embry yelled and the class giggled.

"Alright, be free!" Sydney said loudly and the flurry of action started. The smile that fell onto her lips was brief before she realized the weight of the situation that had just occurred. She couldn't help herself and she quickly walked to the room next door to check on Jedidiah. When she walked into Seth's class, everyone was sitting quietly in a circle and listening as Seth told a story, his deep voice melted like warm honey into the air around them.

"There lived a big woman named Dask'iya'. She used to steal children and take them to Yaq'ilis creek, going up the Quileute river, where she put the children together and huddled them around a fire. She would put rocks into the fire, which Dask'iya' used to broil the children. Before broiling the children, she put gum in their eyes so that they could not see anything.

One day she caught many children. Then she heated the stones which she was going to use and as the children were standing around the fire, they were unable to see because they were affected by the gum. Then, one older girl warmed her hands in order to melt the gum that was stuck in her eyes. While this was happening, Dask'iya' was dancing and singing, saying that the fire was getting hot, and the rocks were about to be ready. When the brave little girl finally melted the gum and opened her eyes she could see Dask'iya' dancing and singing. The little girl thought quickly, she wanted to save her friends and herself so she snuck up behind Dask'iya' and she pushed Dask'iya' into the fire. The girl warmed her hands again and melted the gum that was stuck in the eyes of all the children. As they all opened their eyes, they helped each other make it back to their land safely." Seth finished his story and Sydney realized that she had been staring and so had all of the kids, even Jedidiah was entranced.

"I'd like for everyone to take a second a think about that story because that is a legend that is part of your history. Why do you think it is important that we keep telling these stories? Did you picture yourself in that story as I was telling it?" Seth stood up slowly and he walked towards Sydney. "Shall we?" He whispered jokingly.

As they walked outside into the hall, Sydney whispered back, "I just wanted to check on him." Seth sighed heavily and looked towards the door.

"I can't say I'm surprised. Upset that it had to happen, but not surprised." He said sadly. Sydney realized that she had never seen sadness on Seth and it just looked…wrong.

"Do you think you'll be able to take him in?" She asked and Seth shrugged.

"I can only hope. I want to be able to give him a normal life, or at least a semblance of one." He trailed off and took a quick breath. "I better get back in there. The hypnosis only lasts for a minute or two." He winked at her as he walked inside and she let out a small laugh.

As she walked back into her classroom, she stopped dead in her tracks. There in the middle of the floor stood all 6'7" of Embry but he was covered in children who were furiously working on various art projects that all seemed to be happening on him.

Bea was on Embry's shoulders with her face twisted with pure concentration as she used glue to manipulate his hair into large spikes that sat atop his head and there were small specks of glitter that were starting to show themselves. Chase was standing on his tip toes as Embry held out his left arm and Chase was drawing symbols in permanent marker that covered most of his forearm and parts of his bicep. There were two hanging off his right arm who were passing ribbon back and forth in a criss-cross pattern, making his arm look like a latticed piece of lace. Sydney stifled a laugh and raised her eyebrows.

Embry looked up and showed the smallest hint of a shrug before saying, "So much for painting."

As the day dwindled down, Sydney couldn't shake the nagging feeling of dread that riddled every part of her body but thank god for Embry, who managed to make every single one of her students laugh and to feel important and validated. As the final bell rang, he continued to wear his big, goofy grin as students gathered their belongings.

"I believe my work here is done." He said smugly, wiping his hands together and all together forgetting that he looked absolutely and utterly ridiculous. His hair was put into 3 very large spikes that were each adorned with glitter, there was haphazard drawings on one of his arms, a lace sleeve on the other, a pair of glasses a student had made for him sat on his nose crookedly and the bottom of his grey t-shirt had tiny hearts cut into it.

"I can't thank you enough." Sydney said and meant it, "But I can't let you out in public like that, as much as I'd like to….I can't."

"Trust me, I've probably had worse. Besides, I think I look magnificent." Embry struck a pose like he was modeling for an invisible camera and Sydney let out a sharp laugh. "Alright Miss Delahunt, I think my work here is done. I'll see ya 'round." Embry walked towards the door of the classroom and yelled to no one in particular, "your phone is ringing."

"Bye Embry!" Sydney laughed as she walked back to her desk and sure enough, she could feel her phone vibrating.

 _Jacob._

"Hello?" She answered, balancing the phone on her shoulder as she picked up the papers she needed to grade that night and put them in her bag.

"Have a minute to talk?" He asked, his voice filling her ears with the most beautiful sound.

"Always. Want to meet somewhere?" She asked.

"Would you mind coming by the shop? I would meet you somewhere else but there's a lot going on over here and I can't leave." He said and after finding out the address, she got into her car.

The day was dreary and grey and miserable and it fit the overall mood. She navigated the small, muddy streets and pulled up to Jacob's garage. There were over 20 cars parked at various angles outside in the grass with 3 pulled into the bay. She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and jumped out of her car into the misting rain and before she could even pick her head up to see where she was going, he was standing next to her with an umbrella.

He was dressed in a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans that were both covered with grease stains and his fingertips were blackened from oil. "Jeeeeesus" She said under her breath and Jacob smiled.

Sydney immediately blushed, "I mean, really, you couldn't just be a normal looking mechanic, could you?" Jacob let out a soft laugh and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey Syd." He simply said and held her with one arm for a few moments, the other attempting to hold the tiny umbrella over both of them. It was obvious neither of them wanted to let go but Sydney pulled away first.

"So, this is the famous garage? May I have a tour?" She asked with a smirk and Jacob smiled, his beautiful, beautiful smile.

"Right this way." He said in a low and gravelly voice making Sydney's knees suddenly lose all feeling. "Are you okay?" He asked and Sydney blushed harder this time.

"Yeah, it's just that voice, I wasn't-oh. You meant about earlier didn't you?" Stupid, stupid, stupid was all she could think.

Jacob let out a real laugh this time and Sydney hit his arm. "I did mean about earlier today, but good to save that piece of information for a later date…" He winked at her as they walked forward and Sydney swore her heart plummeted through her ass.

"So, this is it, we have 3 bays that are all full at the moment. It's been a hell of a week here, all of the cars that are out there need to be done by this weekend so there's a lot of overtime happening for everyone." Sydney shrugged off her jacket and Jacob collapsed the umbrella as they walked inside. "This is the lounge for customers, we don't get much use out of it though, we usually just give them rides back to their house and pick them up when it's ready. And this is my office…" He gestured to a small room in the back of the garage that was meticulously clean.

Sydney marveled at how innately organized it was. There were shelves of binders, each clearly labeled with dates and years and they were all in order. There wasn't a thing out of place, not even a stray paper.

"Well this is a surprise!" A voice shouted from behind them, causing Sydney to jump. Before she could even turn around, Ayana was hugging her with a ferocity she hadn't experienced in quite some time.

"Good to see you too!" Sydney squeaked out and they all laughed.

"Boss man, there's a few notes by the phone that were just left, most people just asking about timelines and a few wonderin' if we could take them in. I told them I'd talk to you and give them a call as soon as I knew." Ayana said as she chewed a rather large piece of gum and Jacob let out a small breath before rubbing his temples.

"Sue, Mary, Phil, and Danny's cars will all be done in the next hour or two and I'm staying late so go ahead and let Mark, Phyllis and Ms. Delgato know theirs will be ready to be picked up by 7am." He got out after thinking for a moment. Sydney looked up towards Jacob, her heart going out to him. "And let anyone know who called that they're welcome to bring it in, it just might be a couple days."

"You got it. Good to see you, Syd!" Ayana called over her shoulder as she breezed back through the door to the lobby.

"Good to see you too!" Sydney yelled after her and looked back up towards Jacob who was looking at her with a sly smile.

"I missed you." He said softly and wrapped her in a hug that warmed her up in a matter of seconds. He buried his face in her hair and she let out a giggle.

"And here I was about to complain about how tired _I_ was, but noooo, you had to go and beat me with your good Samaritan car fixing and your being a good father nonsense, and your…I missed you too." Sydney finished after a second's pause. Jacob held her out and Sydney had to readjust to account for his height and as she did, Jacob stuck his tongue out at her and Sydney let out a dramatic gasp. "How dare you?!" She feigned hurt and Jacob took the hand she had put over her mouth and put it up to his lips, suddenly serious.

"How are you, really?" He asked and Sydney brought his hand up to her lips now.

"I'm fine, really. I'm more concerned about everyone else, to be honest." Sydney started and leaned against the wall behind her. "Have you heard from Seth? He had left school before I could catch up with him." Jacob took her hand and led her back out to the bays.

"He went ahead and took Jed back to his place, just to avoid anyone or anything that might try to get their way. Jed needs some time and peace to process everything and I think Seth is the best person to be with him." He mused as he pulled a chair out for Sydney to sit and then started tinkering with one of the cars.

"Do we know what will happen? I mean, that was by and far one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen, they were just going to take him, no questions asked!" Sydney could feel the heat rising up from her belly again, just thinking about it. "I mean really! A child's mother dies and their first thought is 'oh we should go uproot his entire life!' Like come on!" She threw her hands up in the air and let out a small huff.

Jacob was bent over the car but was peering over his shoulder and her with a look between admiration and humor "but his eyes are something else entirely" Sydney thought but she couldn't quite place what it was.

"Charlie and Billy were talking to them, last I heard. I'm sure my dad will call as soon as he knows anything, the gossip mill that he is." Jacob put his ear close to the car's engine and twisted a wrench ever so slightly to the left and squinted his eyes. He came around to the driver's side and bent into the car to start it, as the engine roared to life, he smiled. "But honestly Syd, you did all you could, things like this happen here. It's sad and it's terrible but it happens and you shouldn't blame yourself. He'll need his teacher at her best when he gets back into the class."

"Yeah but things like that _shouldn't_ happen." She mumbled and they sat in a silence. Sydney letting her thoughts overtake her mind and Jacob worked on the cars parked around them, one at a time. Neither of them spoke for minutes on end but it was exactly what they needed. They needed companionship.

Jacob was the first to break the silence. "Tell me about another adventure." And just like that, they talked. They talked about past loves and past mistakes and past blunders. They talked about favorite memories and future dreams and hopes they held close to chest. It was effortless.

Sydney let out a small sigh and rested her head on her shoulder, staring out at what could only be described as the most beautiful man she had ever seen. It wasn't his raw masculinity, I mean that definitely didn't _hurt_ , but it was everything else. The way he cared, the way he loved, the way that he put everyone before himself and never asked for anything in return.

 _God, what am I? A romance novel character?_ She thought to herself and scoffed at her own expense before looking to the clock. _6:42._

"Jesus, I didn't realize we had been here so long. Aren't you starving?" She asked, slowly stretching up arms and standing up.

Jacob pushed back from the third car he had been working on, "I've been waiting for about an hour for you to ask." Sydney threw her arms up into the air.

"You could have said something, you dingus!" She cried, exasperated.

"Yeah, well you were being all cute, thinking. I didn't want to interrupt." Jacob shrugged and started wiping the grease from his hands. "So….about that date?" He asked with a boyish smile and Sydney couldn't help but notice how much like a teenager he looked in this moment.

"Want to go somewhere close so you can get back to work afterwards?" Sydney suggested and he shook his head.

"Wherever you want to go." He said, switching the light in his office off and grabbing his keys.

"Is it weird that I want diner food? All I want right now is French fries." She said, embarrassed and Jacob let out what could only be described as a bark.

"Are you sure?" He asked incredulously and she nodded emphatically. He shook his head then thought for a second. "Would you mind driving us? Then I can shift back to check in everyone that's out patrolling on the way back here. I know it's not really romantic, but this won't count as our first date." He winked and Sydney rolled her eyes.

The drive to the diner passed in a blur, Jacob was playing songs that he thought perfectly embodied what it was like to grow up in La Push and Sydney loved every second of getting to know him more and she couldn't help but smile.

Their dinner was a romantic meal of 3 large orders of French fries, 2 double cheeseburgers, 4 orders of chicken tenders, and 3 chocolate milkshakes "because one isn't enough!" Jacob had said and before they knew it, it was 8pm.

"I better get back. I have a stack of papers that need to be graded and you have a long night ahead of you." She whispered as they stood in front of her car. Jacob smiled and bent down towards her.

"Thank you for tonight." He whispered onto her lips and Sydney couldn't help but shudder. He pulled away from her slightly and placed his warm hands on either side of her face and grazed his thumb over her lips, "Can I kiss you now?" He asked and Sydney nodded, leaning her face towards his.

That kiss. That kiss was one Sydney would remember forever. His warm lips enveloping hers, their mouths opening to meet each other, his tongue sliding ever so slowly along the inside of her lip. Sydney was so caught up in it that she barely felt herself getting lifted up and before she was even aware, she was wrapping her legs around his waist.

The kiss deepened and Sydney's finger traced the side of his face as her lips seemed to meld to his. After a few more breathless seconds, Jacob pulled back fractionally and kissed her gently one more time. "Goodnight beautiful." He whispered and Sydney smiled, leaning her forehead against his.

"Be safe out there." She whispered back and Jacob nodded. He held her like that for a moment longer then slowly placed her back on solid ground. He opened her door and she started her car and neither of them said anything more, they didn't need to.

Sydney drove home in a daze, her heart felt like it was floating out of her chest and her lips were buzzing.

" _I'm in so fucking deep"_ was all she could think.


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the kind words!

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Days and weeks and months passed and Sydney felt like everything was falling into place. School was ending for summer break and she had become an established member of the community, both in Forks and in La Push. She was feeling healthy and more importantly, happy.

"Well good morning beautiful." A deep voice said from behind her as she stared out into the woods from her kitchen window, holding a cup of coffee between her hands. She smiled and leaned into the warm arms that wrapped around her from behind. "I could hear you thinking all the way from the bedroom." Jacob whispered into her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Do you think it'll stay sunny like this today?" She wondered aloud and Jacob stood quietly for a second, picked his head up for a brief moment, and then set it back down.

"According to my unnaturally heightened senses, it shouldn't rain until later tonight." He said confidently and Sydney spun around.

"You never told me about your weather predicting abilities!" She pouted and Jacob laughed.

"I wouldn't say it was so much a weather predicting ability as it is a heightened sense of hearing that overheard the forecast from the neighbor's TV." He shrugged as Sydney smacked his arm.

"Here I was getting all excited that we might be actually able to make some good money off of you but no, disappointment, yet again…" She mused dramatically and Jacob laughed as he bent down to kiss her.

"Well hopefully last night wasn't disappointing…" He whispered as he placed kisses along her neck and down her shoulder. Sydney's eyes closed on their own accord and she took a deep breath.

"No, definitely not, definitely definitely not." Was all she was able to get out.

"As much as I'd love to stay here and do this to you all day, I have to get to the shop. But I hear there's supposed to be this incredible spot up on a cliff that you can see the sun setting into the water. We should go and kick all the teenagers out so we can make out." Jacob suggested and she let out a full, robust laugh.

"Sounds perfect. Give me a call when you're headed out. I'm gonna finish some things here and then probably head over to Rachel's. She has her hands full and I thought I could stop in and maybe let her get a nap." Sydney mused as she wrapped the long braid that was lying on Jacob's shoulder around her fingers.

"You. Are. Incredible." Jacob placed a kiss on her forehead between every word and smiled. "I'll see you soon." He traced his index finger along her jaw and seemed to be studying her face, as he turned to leave he shouted over his shoulder, "Oh! And if I find out you got on the roof without telling anyone again, there will be hell to pay!"

"Maybe I wouldn't mind paying hell." She mumbled knowing full well he could probably hear her and waved one last time from her porch as he climbed into his truck. As she shut her front door, a smile broke free from her lips that felt like it couldn't be contained. She had never known happiness quite like this and to be honest, she was loving every second of it. She walked back to her kitchen to grab the now too-cold-to-drink coffee and put it in the microwave. As the cup spun around and around she got lost remembering last night.

Tangled sheets and limbs, his hands intertwined in hers above their heads, Jacob's kiss trailing from her neck down to her-the microwave beeped incessantly and Sydney blinked a few times, reality settling in. It had been their first time sleeping together, well, their first 5 times sleeping together, last night and the months of worrying about jumping into a relationship had all but dissipated. Jacob wasn't just any _guy_. He respected her space and gave her privacy when she needed or asked for it, he pushed her to grow and introduced her to new things, he gave her a soft place to land and a helping hand without ever making her feel incompetent.

Plus, _damn he was so hot._ They just….fit. Plus, with the imprint, which they had talked at length about, neither of them felt obligated to be with the other, it just felt natural and right. Sydney's main concern had been that Jacob didn't have a choice in the matter but when he had explained that the way his imprint worked was by providing him a bit more clarity, allowing him to see what kind of person she was and the future they could have together, he had told her it would be stupid of him not to be with her. Sydney smiled again and set out to start her day.

* * *

 **Paul's POV**

Paul knew what the world could be; cold, cruel, unyielding. He also knew that it could be something else entirely. But today, Paul saw the world in its truest form, he saw the world the way he used to when he was 16.

He made a point to never step foot in places like this, but when a young boy's mother dies of an overdose and her dealer just happens to set up shop at the pool hall, temptation can be quite hard to resist. As he walked through the front door, the overwhelming stench of despair and helplessness seeped into his pores, the cigarette smoke clouded in front of him, and he felt as every pathetic pair of eyes turned his way. The slow, sad song of "To See My Angel Cry" by Conway Twitty eeked out of the speakers in the ceiling which put his teeth on edge, he had always hated country music.

Paul was always conscious of how he made people feel, almost alarmingly so. He knew that he gave off an air of "don't fuck with me" and he quite preferred it that way, especially in this moment.

He stood tall, his fists bunched at his side as he surveyed the scene before him.

Two females to his immediate left. One of them wearing too much perfume.  
One male behind the bar.  
Two males ahead and to his left at a pool table, 4 strides away, neither posing a threat. One with terrible gingivitis.  
One female and one male opposite them at another pool table, 5 strides away, aaaaaand jackpot.

Paul took one long inhale through his nose and stared straight at the couple who were looking back at him both wearing placated looks of worry on their face. Paul felt the corner of his lip twitch upwards and he released the inhale he had been holding in his lungs. He took one purposeful step towards them and then another, that stupid fucking song still whining about some lost love.

"Hey there Don." Paul's voice reverberated from somewhere deep inside of him, past hatred for the man spilling out into the air.

"Paul, we don't want any trouble." Don said slowly, his words slurring slightly. "Do we Jhane?" Michael looked intentionally at the woman with him, a woman in her mid 50's who was stoned out of her mind.

"Nah man, we're all good here." She said with a slight smile on her face, whether or not she was trying to flirt with Paul or she was just that stoned, he had no idea.

"Heard you're the one responsible for a little boy's dead mother." Paul said flatly bypassing any pleasantries.

"Hey now, what she did, that ain't my fault. I only sell them as much as they can handle. Not my problem if they buy more off other people." Don suddenly became very interested in his pool stick and was twisting it around in his hand.

"See the thing about this, Don, is karma is real and it can be a real bitch. See, little boys like Jedidiah who grow up seeing shit like that, well they eventually grow up to be men like me. And I'm sure you don't need any more of those, now do you?" Paul stared at Michael, waiting for him to look him in the eyes before he continued, "If I _ever_ hear you're selling to moms, I will find you and I will thoroughly enjoy ripping you from limb to limb. Are we understood?"

Don dropped his pool stick and faltered for just a second. "I don't ask for background checks on my customers but I'll see what I can do."

Paul smile his most satirical smile and straightened his shoulders. "Glad we're on the same page." Was all he said before turning back towards the front door and escaping that particular pit of despair. He had to hand it to himself, a few years ago, he would have beat the shit out of the guy just to prove a point. And to be honest, the jury was still out as to whether or not he would do it, but he had kids now and a very pregnant wife. He didn't need to go to jail for killing a drug dealer, he needed to be there for his family.

Nevertheless, as he walked back outside and into the unnaturally sunny day, he couldn't help but think about little Jed and how sorry he felt for the kid. Paul was all too familiar with drug-addicted mothers. The more he thought about it, the angrier he felt until rage boiled through his veins, burning white hot and consuming him from the inside out. He needed to run and he needed to run now. He jogged to the forest line behind the pool hall, leaving his truck in the parking lot and jogged another half mile into the forest before letting the shift overtake him.

Memories came flooding back all at once, memories that he had been hiding from himself and memories he hadn't let himself think about in years.

His 7-year-old self tripping over his mother lying face down on the kitchen floor covered in blood that was pouring from her face. The man that had beat her face in, his father, was passed out on the couch with a bottle of Wild Turkey clutched in his hands that bore bloodied knuckles. His 9-year-old self coming home from school to hear his father yelling at another woman in his bedroom while his mother, needle still in arm, lay barely conscious on the couch. His mother, desperate for any man's love bringing home strings of men, night after night, each time getting drunker than the night before.

He let the memories flood through, let them do the damage they needed to, let them sit and fester for a moment. Paul inherently _knew_ Don wasn't the sole cause of his parent's demise but he knew for damn sure that Don had been a very large factor. But that wasn't what was bothering him, no, he had gotten over those emotions years ago, it was that he was now having to watch first-hand a new generation being afflicted by the same misery and despair and helplessness by the hands of one single person.

Paul's wolf used the anger and bitter resentment to propel them forward, forward. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he heard a very soft, "Hey man." Embry.

 _Fuck._ He thought he had screened it from the rest of the pack.

 _You did at first and then it was just….a lot of images. Nothing new though, you could have at least tried to spice it up._ Embry thought and Paul was at least a little grateful for that. Annoying as he was still, Embry always knew how to lighten a mood.

During their teenaged years, anything and _everything_ was projected for the entire pack to see. The original 8 had seen just about every second of each other's lives whether it be in person or through their own memories.

 _Donl still the worst fucking human?_ Embry asked and Paul mentally agreed. _Well, at least there won't be any surprises as to who our roommate will be if we end up going to hell._

 _What are you doing out here anyways?_ Paul asked and Embry showed him where he was patrolling. _Jake wanted me to run a couple extra loops, with the Cullen's traipsing around like they own the place._

 _I could honestly use a kill right now_ Paul mused and Embry mentally agreed. They both ran in silence, aware of each other but giving the space and quiet they both needed. Hours passed and they had both completed full loops of the national park and into Canada when they both smelled it.

 _Cullens._

 _They couldn't just stay fucking away, could they?_ Paul thought and let out a sharp, loud howl from his belly as Embry was projecting his location, about a quarter mile from where Paul was, to the pack-mind for anyone who was shifting. Paul ran to catch up with Embry, the stench of vampire sitting sour in his nostrils.

 _He smells like Cullen but I don't remember him._ Embry thought as they ran towards the blur ahead of them. He was tall and skinny, his long legs carrying him faster than any of the other Cullen's. _OH SHIT._ Embry was remembering patches of someone else's memory, the diner parking lot, the same tall asshole using Sydney's face as a punching bag and it clicked in Paul's memory as well. _Fuck._ They thought.

 _What is it?_ Jacob's Alpha voice rang through their minds and they both Embry and Paul projected what they were seeing, Paul running to the bloodsucker's left and Embry to the right. _Kill it._ Jacob's order pierced their minds, he hadn't given an order in years and the urge to appease their Alpha reared into life, a newfound sense of purpose and drive to an almost fanatical level took shape within Paul. Kill. Kill. Kill.

As more and more minds joined the link, Jacob was sending out directives to everyone, Michael was to catch up with them since he was the fastest, Quil and Brady were to patrol the res and keep tabs on the imprints and children, Ayana and Seth were patrolling Forks, and Sam was patrolling the water's edge, looking for any signs of a water-based attack from the rest of the Cullen's. Everyone else was stationed at different points so they could all converge in one spot at the same time and hopefully cut off the new Cullen, and woman-beater, to kill him quickly.

Paul could feel the energy and adrenaline coursing through him, his link to the pack mind was crisp and myopically focused whereas his personal thoughts were selfish and straying from course. He thought about Rachel, the kind-hearted woman who gave her entire life to helping others, who also happened to drive him up a wall in the best way. He thought about his two sons and the one on the way. He thought about the home he had built and how hard he had worked to provide a different life for them, one clear of alcohol and drugs, one where his children would know both their mother and their father loved them unconditionally.

 _He's still a newborn so he's fast but we have experience to our advantage. Remember to attack in unexpected ways. He will be brutally strong but I know all of you are capable of taking him down._ Jacob's thoughts settled in Paul's mind, shifting his focus from his family to only the task at hand. He needed this kill, wanted this. They all did.

* * *

Sorry to end on a cliff-hanger but I'll update soon! Thanks again for reading!


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